MINEHEAD & West Somerset Hockey Club Ladies hosted Honiton Hornets on home ground on another very wet Saturday, and produced a dominant display of teamwork on the all-weather pitch to deliver some excellent fluid hockey and secure a convincing 5–1 victory.

From the first whistle, Minehead pressed high and were rewarded almost immediately when Tisshaw ‘s strike was deflected neatly into the goal within the first minute of play. This caught the Hornets defence cold to take an early lead which set the tone for the game. The early breakthrough gave Minehead confidence, and their second goal soon followed after sustained pressure ending with a well-worked ball from Cape, doubling the advantage and underlining Minehead’s control of the match. Minehead continued to dictate the tempo and Cape added a third goal before half-time, heading into the break with a deserved 3–0 - with the game nicely set up for the home side.

Honiton emerged with renewed intent in the second half and were rewarded with a goal of their own. However, Minehead responded positively, regaining their composure and reasserting control of possession. A further goal in the second half scored from Sparks- rewarding her supporting run and a result of sustained attacking pressure. Solid defending and sharp finishing allowed Cape to score a hat-trick; rounding off an impressive 5–1 win over Honiton Hornets. Well done to the Phillip Hobbs and Johnson White player of the match Kate Lancaster. Team: Jan Weetch, Tracy Bailey, Jess Koppa, Charlotte Hirons, Molly Rucklidge, Gemma Chilcott, Kate Lancaster, Amy Tisshaw, Jen Cook, Zoey Cape, Hannah Sparks, Morgan Cooper, Saphie Haddon.

Meanwhile, Minehead men's1s were finally back in their title pursuit at the weekend, after two weeks of cancelled games, with 10am pushback at TauntonVale.

It was clear from early on that the lack of hockey over the last two months had really affected the West Somerset team. This, coupled with some stop-start officiating,meant that the Seasiders struggled to string much good hockey together and the first half descended into scrappy, broken play.

The visitors, however, were able to persevere and took their scoring chances when they came their way. Joe Notaro-Livingstone opened the scoring before Nick Jones doubled the lead. Lee Fairbrother made some brilliant saves in the Minehead goal but a run of the mill foot in the blue D was deemed to deny a clear goal scoring opportunity, and gave Vale a penalty stroke with which to come back in the game.

Fortunately the tenacity of Joe Notaro-Livingstone working hard to seize upon a goal keeping error meant that Minehead pulled ahead to 3-1, but a well taken short corner brought Vale backto within touching distance.

The Seasiders seemed to settle into the 2nd half better, but still looked to be way off their usual pace. Kyle Wheaton managed to find the net to put Minehead into a two-goal leadd, but with cards flying Minehead soon spent the best part of ten minutes with nine men on the pitch.

They weathered the storm with hard work and Vale were unable to capitalise. Shortly before the final whistle Vale pulled one back, leading to a very cagey final few minutes before the final whistle. Score: Taunton Vale 3, Minehead 4. PoM Chris Weetch.