OLD LOUGHTONIANS’ men progressed to the fourth round of the England Hockey Cup with a narrow 2-1 away win at National North Conference leaders Deeside Ramblers.
Loughts were able to work a number of openings, although they couldn’t find the killer blow in the first half.
However, they found what they were looking for after the break when Liam Doidge beat the keeper with a low, hard flick from a penalty corner.
Deeside levelled from a similar position, but it was Loughts who grabbed the decisive third goal of the game, Oliver Didham’s smart reverse stick shot beating the keeper all ends up to secure a tie with premier league side Bowden on November 22.
Elsewhere, Waltham Forest’s ladies did the double over Brentwood thanks to a single-goal victory at the weekend in their East Division One South clash.
The Walthamstow-based side took the lead in the first half when player-of-the-match Haley Mallinder laid on Anna Pearson to reverse sweep the ball home for her first goal of the season.
Philippa Leguen de Lacroix came close to extending the lead but she was denied on the line.
Meanwhile, Forest’s men’s team extended their unbeaten run to five games with a terrific 4-1 victory over undefeated Southend.
Man-of-the-match Chris Tanswell was a defensive rock at the back, allowing Forest to surge forward in search of goals, which they found in the shape of Nico Kurt’s smart drag flick.
A lapse in concentration allowed Southend to level, but the respite did not last long for the visitors as Matt Tanswell converted a penalty flick.
A fine team goal put the result beyond doubt. Skipper Chris Brown found Ben MacDonald on the edge of the circle, who in turn crossed for Phil Peacock and he was able to convert at the second attempt.
Cillie Truter rounded off the scoring with a fierce strike.
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