Sidmouth Hockey Club travelled to Cornwall in search of a club record.

With Manchester United breaking the league record for defensive clean sheets last weekend with a run of 12 games without conceding a goal, Sidmouth Hockey Club travelled to Cornwall in search of a similar, if not quite so glorious, club record.On a run of 10 unbeaten games, Sidmouth's trip to Redruth to play Truro held no fear for the travellers, despite the fact that Truro were the last side to beat them back in October last year with a 5-1 home drubbing.Sidmouth's amazing run has been built around a solid defensive unit, which has been able to lock out even the most potent of players. This, along with captain Andy Welch bringing young talent like Ian Brown and Chris Lewis in out of the cold, allows the team to combine the vast experience already in the side with some youth and enthusiasm.From the opening whistle it looked to be business as usual, the team soaking up a bit of pressure, with Brown in particular showing a mastery of the dark art of defending on the edge of the rules, with a couple of timely 'accidental' body checks and the forwards looking to expose weakness in the Truro backline.Enigma Andy Mapson, who has been known to drift in and out of games and has probably played in every position other than goalkeeper this season in search of a place he can call his own, broke the deadlock after 10 minutes with a sharp turn and shot that even surprised himself and gave Sidmouth a 1-0 lead that they held at the half-time break.Sidmouth came out for the second half a lot more focused on the job in hand and, with the vociferous support from the sideline of retired player Simon Price and mentor Jason House, the side went up another gear.Having drifted out of the game towards the end of the first half, Mapson returned to the fray after a spell on the bench to double his tally and the team's lead with another well-taken goal. Mapson's double was soon matched by Nick Wade, who is in a rich vein of goal scoring form at the moment. His second goal was a classic counter attack effort, with Truro consoling themselves at one end after missing an opportunity, while a quick Scott Rowson free hit set Sidmouth on their way. Within five seconds of missing the chance, Truro had conceded a fourth at the other end.The visitors were not finished though and Graham Pidgeon, having probably his best game of the season in the left-half position for the first 60 minutes, took the opportunity to play centre-forward for the remainder, and his adventurism was rewarded, not only with a couple of scares for the defenders he had left at the back, but also with a fifth goal for the team when he took the ball off Byron Fitzgerald's stick to tap in from a yard out.Sidmouth could easily have scored more before the end, with Mapson having a free shot for a hat-trick but missing the target and new signing Paul Lavers almost consolidating a fine debut for the side with a goal, but his shot also failed to hit the target.The 5-0 victory secures Sidmouth's 11 game unbeaten run, a feat that means they have played and not lost to everyone in the league now. Unfortunately the four defeats in the first four league games means it's probably going to be another case of 'what could have been' this season. The team can certainly be proud of the way they have turned their season around with a style of play that is bringing plaudits from players, supporters and even the opposition.l This week, the team are at home to Minehead, the first team to lose to Sidmouth this season, and therefore an opportunity for the side to do the double and continue their march up the league.