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Hockey: Topsy-turvy affair has Middleton scratching heads
Draws for Middleton & Bognor and Chichester Chipmunks were about the best our local hockey sides could manage on a weather-hit weekend.
Middleton and Bognor 3 Horsham 3
One-nil down after five minutes, Middleton had to wake up and take the game to Horsham.
They played some great hockey up to half-time with goals from Jobb Bradley and Steve Pullen putting the home side ahead.
In the second half, Horsham equalised. Against the run of play, Brandon Hanley gave M&B the lead and the tide seemed to turn.
Only in the last five minutes did some bad marking let Horsham take points away from a game Middleton should have won at home.
M&B: Guy Newman, Jobb Bradley, Tom Saunders, Peter Pritchard, Dave Fryatt, Mike Mclure, Luke Green, Brandon Hanley, Steve Pullen, Mark Hoare, Craig Ravening.
Southwick Ladies 6 Middleton Ladies 0
Middleton and Southwick both went on the attack from the start – but both defended well.
Southwick took the lead from a short corner and it was 1-0 at half-time.
Middleton's intentions to push forward in the second half did not go to plan as Southwick dominated possession.
They were caught out too many times by Southwick as they went on the attack and they scored three goals in 15 minutes.
Middleton's breakaways could not break down the Southwick defence, and Southwick scored twice more. The scoreline was an unfair reflection of the game.
M&B: C Meere, A Lawrence, B Eyres, S Bond, L Woollven, K Nurse,
R McCartain, C Woollven, J Woollven, K Burton, J Stallard, K Jones.
Centurions 1 Hailsham 2
Extraordinary weather did not deter the determination of either team.
An early corner to Hailsham was well-defended, and a good clearance saw Thew score for Centurions.
Play became concentrated in midfield and Proctor and Pordage made important tackles.
Attempts to get the ball to the wings saw opportunities for Brooker, Hurford and Richardson, but breaking through the Hailsham defence again proved beyond Centurions and Hailsham equalised.
The second half saw Harris making skilful interceptions, supported by Edge and Smith.
Merrett and Brown combined well on the left and Eames went tantalisingly close.
A corner beat Pain as Hailsham went 2-1 up. Centurions worked hard to pull level but the score remained the same.
CENTURIONS: Edge, Proctor, Smith,Eames, Brown, Merrett, Richardson, Harris, Thew, Pordage, Hurford, Brooker, Pain.
Chichester Chipmunks 1 Eastbourne Eaglets 1
Chichester knew this would be a tough game on a day when the weather was dreadful and they had a changed side because of injury.
The match lived up to expectations as both sides fought hard in dreadful conditions to come out on top.
Chichester opened the scoring when an excellent early counter-attack saw Blank and Lansdale's pace open up the Eastbourne defence with ease.
Lansdale found Andrew McCartain in a great position on the back post and he had the easiest of finishes.
Eastbourne fought back with skill and teamwork, and were the best team Chichester had played this year.
Despite good saves from Donaldson and strong defensive work from Lyons, Whittle, Jaeger and Trent, Eastbourne equalised.
The Chichester midfield had to work hard and Farr and Kathegesu had to put in a huge amount of effort at inside forward.
The sun came out in the second half and the hockey improved further with both teams playing great hockey.
Chichesteer had less possession but looked dangerous on the break.
Chichester nearly won it when Brixey hit the post late on, but a draw was probably a fair result in a game played in a great spirit between two good young teams.
Bad Habits 4 Eastb'ne 5
On a very stormy day, the sun came out just in time – but it didn't shine on Chichester side Bad Habits despite them having plenty of the play.
BH were caught out by a quick break and the opposition went 1-0 up. BH went close several times, hitting the post twice, but Eastbourne broke once more and scored again.
BH kept up the pressure and were rewarded with a cross from Riley to Dunster, who reverse-sticked into the goal.
In the second half, Chichester pushed forward and nearly levelled but the opposition broke and scored a third.
Chichester heads didn't go down and Austin scored from a short corner. Play was end to end but Eastbourne's young guns made it four. Bad Habits fought back again and Dunster made it 4-3.
Chichester were awarded a free hit outside the opposing team's D but it didn't pay off and Eastbourne regained possession and scored a fifth.
Chichester battled on and Austin made it four, but they ran out of time and lost by the narrowest of margins.
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Weather for Chichester
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South west
