LADIES: Eastcote 3 Woking 1A 2

After weeks of very frustrating draws and defeats Eastcote finally achieved their first hockey South League Division Two win at the seventh attempt.

The Reds were made to battle all the way by Woking who hit back to level from 2-0 down but Eastcote refused to buckle and Sian Bailey's goal gave them a long overdue win.

Eastcote took an early lead when the Woking keeper blocked Emily Reed's short corner strike and Liz Walker was on hand to tap in the loose ball.

The hosts then made it two from another Reed corner, again converted at close range by Walker although just before half-time they were caught off guard and Woking were right back in the game at 2-1.

Coach Ozzie Pandor sent the team out fired up but just 10 minutes in they lost first Anita Huntley with two broken fingers, the result of a mis-timed free hit by the opposition, and then Reed for five minutes to a yellow card.

Woking took advantage to draw level but Eastcote continued to attack and had the majority of the possession in the last 15 minutes. A good move down the right led to a free hit outside the D which Rachel Wicks drilled through to Bailey, who beat the keeper from close range and Eastcote played sensibly to close out the 3-2 win.

On Saturday they travel to Oxford University who now sit one point and one place below Eastcote.

The second team made it six wins from six with a 3-1 success against Mill Hill after goals from Kim Spencer-Pell, Nicky Ekins and Tracey Gustad.

The Threes saw off Ashford 4-0 thanks to Fi Chandler, Roz Claxton (2) and Kaz Smith, while the Fours and Fives both lost.

* Old Uxonians defeated Eastcote V 4-0 with goals from Alison Callaghan (2), Liz Laird and Laurie Tostevin. Jo Verity was player of the match.

MEN: Tring 0 Eastcote 6

A GARY Towns hat-trick took Eastcote into third in the Middlesex, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Regional League as they thumped bottom side Tring 6-0.

A first clean sheet of the season was also reason to celebrate although player-coach Adam Mulholland still described the score as below par.

The win took Eastcote up to third and with only three points covering the top four, they face key games before Christmas against second-placed British Airways and on Saturday at home to Slough, 1.30pm at Kings College Road.

The Boars started well with Towns, an RAF fitness instructor, scoring from open play and then Mulholland added a second from a short corner drag flick.

Tring fought back and were awarded a penalty corner from which Mark Welch made a terrific save to keep the home side at bay and David Cooper grabbed a third before half-time to effectively seal the result.

After the break Eastcote exerted plenty of pressure with youngsters Bart Bedet and Alex Stobbart proving a handful and Towns struck twice more to complete his treble and Mulholland converted another short corner to take the final tally to six.

Elsewhere it was a disappointing day with three draws and seven defeats for the other men's sides.

The Twos could only draw 2-2 with Old Mid Whitgiftians when they had the chances to win easily, Ian Sadler with both their goals, while the Threes conceded a last minute equaliser in an identical result against Henley.

The Sevens (2-3) and Eagles (3-4) both conceded last minute winners.

On Sunday Stobbart completed a hat-trick with a golden goal winner as the second team beat Southampton 3-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the England Hockey Second Team Trophy.

COLTS

TWO mixed U9 teams competed in a tournament at Harrow which the A team won and the B team was third.

Ben Shroder scored six goals for the A team with Bryn Jones getting two and Grace Hambrook and Costas Georgellis also hitting the target, while Kabir Mandair was the B team's player of the tournament.

On Sunday Eastcote Colts are offering a free taster session to any girls and boys who want to try out hockey. Anyone interested aged six to 11 should be at Kings College Road at 9.30am and 11 to 14-year-olds at 11am. Sticks and qualified coaches will be present.