Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s 3rd XI travelled to Exeter and Culm Vale Hornets (ECVH) in Exeter and ended up on the wrong end of a 4-0 score line, writes Andrew Coley.

Although some of the regulars were unavailable, the side started the game with some control on the play but despite applying pressure in the opposition area, they did not manage to get many shots on goal.

And almost against the run of play, it was ECVH who took the lead with a swift passing move up the pitch.

The thirds battled on but two goals in two minutes, late in the half put Hornets in control going into the break.

In the second half, captain Simon Olive swapped positions with Steve Harris, and for a time, the side was able to create some chances, but the home side was up to the task of keeping a clean sheet.

There was one further goal score by the hosts who were denied further by some excellent SOHC defending.