OLD LOUGHTONIANS' men's team are well-placed in second position after the first weekend of action in the National Indoor Hockey Premier Division in Bristol.

The team won two and drew two of their four games to put them in a strong position for a place at the National Indoor Finals, to be held at Wembley Arena on January 30.

First up on Saturday for the men was Canterbury, who they managed to see off 9-7 in an entertaining contest.

Surbiton were next up for Old Loughts, who had to rely on a last-gasp winner to triumph 3-2, making it a perfect start for the Chigwell outfit.

There was more late drama when the team took on Beeston in the first match on Sunday. Trailing 3-2 with just a minute left, Loughts opted to replace goalkeeper Stuart Hendy with a kicking back, and the switch worked a treat, with James Stedman popping up with the equaliser with just 20 seconds remaining.

In the weekend's final game, Loughts raced in to a three-goal lead against Reading and appeared to be heading for victory, but the exploits over the two days caught up with them and they surrendered three goals to settle for a draw.

The second weekend of action takes place after the festive period in January.