Leadenham Hockey Club build towards new season after summer league win
After a busy summer campaign, which culminated in Leadenham winning the Hurricane Sports Mixed Trophy, it was time to turn attention to the upcoming league season.
The first pre-season friendly saw Leadenham Thirds take on Newark Thirds in a fast-flowing game.
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Hide AdLeadenham were more clinical with their chances, with newly-appointed skipper Gaz Kirton finding the back of the net twice, but Newark held out to take a 3-2 win.
The two club’s second teams then played each other in a very tactical game where each side spent long periods of time in possession.
Defence was strong for both teams and it took until a short corner before the deadlock was broken.
Neil Ireland swept home the final pass of a clever corner routine which was enough to see the game finish 1-0 to Leadenham.
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Hide AdIn the first team game, Leadenham were caught off-guard by the early intensity Newark applied, and conceded three goal within the first 10 minutes.
A hasty formation change, to sit two defensive midfielders in front of the defence, helped shore up the back line, and from there Leadenham looked to launch counter-attacks.
The home side went close, but they still trailed by three goals when half-time came.
As legs began to tire, Leadenham’s defensive unit started to fray and Newark picked up two more goals from short corners.
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Hide AdThe club would like to thank Simon Higgs, Robert Metheringham, Ben Lane, Tom Pinchbeck and Sam MacAllister for umpiring throughout the day, and sponsors Mountains Skip Hire.
* If you would like to play hockey, Leadenham cater for a wide range of abilities and pride themselves on providing a friendly environment to play for both juniors and seniors.
For more information, email [email protected] or visit their Facebook page at leadenhamhockeyclub