Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 1st XI suffered double disappointment on the final Saturday of January.

Not only did they go down by the odd goal in five at home to Okehampton, but they also lost top spot in the Southern One table with Taunton Vale A taking over at the summit after a 1-0 win at Dart.

It was Okehampton who made a flying start and, with the benefit of a deflected strike, they took the lead. SOHC hit back well and goals from Chris Bishop and Nick Mansfield saw the home side into a 2-1 lead only for Okehampton to net again to leave the contest locked at 2-2 at half-time. After the break, Okehampton started the half on the front foot and, when there was some confusion in the home defensive ranks, the visitors took advantage to take a 3-2 lead. The response from SOHC was again excellent and they spent much of the time that remained in the match trying to break down a stubborn and well-organised back line. A number of short corners were won and a mixture of missed chances and some resolute defending led to no further goals and the final whistle blew to leave SOHC licking their wounds, having suffered a third defeat of the league season.