Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 2nd XI were in South East One action at Bridport where they were 4-1 winners against West Dorset.

What made the result all the more impressive was that, heading into the game, West Dorset sat second in the table and had only been beaten twice in their previous 13 league outings this season!

SOHC started with a good tempo to their game and they took an early lead with Ben Harrison scoring with a reverse stick shot that saw the ball nestled in the bottom corner of the net.

SOHC continued to play on the front foot and it was no more than they deserved when Josh Cressall struck to make it 2-0.

The scorer then picked up a finger injury and half-time arrived with SOHC still two goals to the good.

The home side began the second half strongly and it took some terrific collective play from Ian Brown, Euan Webber and Ben Foley to keep them at arm's length.

At the other end of the pitch a Harvey Charlesworth goal saw SOHC extend their lead.

The home side finally broke down the impressive defensive unit of SOHC to get a goal back.

Buoyed by their goal, West Dorset then looked for a second, but again the SOHC defensive play was disciplined and organised while, in the middle third of the pitch, Charlie Plowden and Ashok Prasad were both combative, putting in some great tackles. Both did pick up green cards for their efforts, but that should not detract from what were exceptional shifts from the two players.

The game was put to bed, in SOHC terms, when Euan Webber scored with a low, driven flick that wrapped up the scoring to seal a 4-1 success.

John Mutter typified the tremendous team effort on the day put in by all involved, playing, as he did throughout, nursing a hamstring injury.

The win means that the 2nd XI are now unbeaten in eight matches and tomorrow (Saturday) they entertain East Devon A at Ottery (2pm).

When the sides met earlier in the season SOHC were 5-1 winners.