MINEHEAD and West Somerset Hockey Club’s 2nd XI travelled to Bristol to face table-topping Westbury and United Banks.

With the first team without a fixture the 2’s made the journey with a full-strength side including returning skipper Joe Bolton, and the luxury of three substitutes to aid tired legs.

In what turned out to be a very tough day at the office, the hosts slotted their first goal after scarcely two minutes of fast-paced possession, which set the tone for the match. Westbury forced repeated attacks with numbers and controlled possession resulting in a total of thirteen unanswered goals across the match.

Westbury’s defence of two ex-National League players remained steadfast, and the few opportunities that Minehead could force were quickly snuffed out and turned into another attack. Man of the match Simon Strong battled hard at the back, moving from right to centre as the subs rolled on and off, to no avail. Despite the defeat the team’s spirits remain high, and a harsh but useful lesson learned.

Minehead Men’s 3's travelled down to face top of the table Bridport Hawks. Minehead started off aggressively but Bridport broke through and managed to get an early deflected goal.

Minehead soon got a short corner which resulted in Will Reed smashing the ball into the back of the net which was disallowed due to it being above the board. Shortly after Max Reed scored a lovely reverse stick goal. Some good passes and tackles followed along with some good defending to leave the score 1 - 1 at half time.

Minehead went into the second half confidently, but Bridport managed to smash a ball into the top of the net making it 2 - 1. Minehead forged on and Max Reed managed to get his second goal of the match to level the score.

Bridport scored a third from a short corner deflection. After a flurry of activity in the Minehead D and several unsuccessful shots on goal, Minehead managed to clear the ball. However, this was followed by a green card for Scott Fewings This put Minehead off their stride and caused them to lose shape and allowed Bridport through to score three more in short succession, ending the game 6 - 2 to Bridport, despite the efforts of Man of the Match Chris Gibbons

Minehead Ladies put in a fantastic performance to secure a convincing 6–1 victory over Culm Valley and climb to third in their League.

Minehead got off to a flying start, with Zoey opening the scoring in the second minute before Amy doubled the lead just six minutes later.

Culm Valley responded with a short-corner goal in the 15th minute. Morgan restored the two-goal cushion in the 22nd minute with a great finish, lobbing the keeper.

Saphie set up Zoey for her second goal of the afternoon in the 26th minute. Minehead went into half-time with an impressive 4–1 lead.

The second half began with Hannah following up to score Minehead’s fifth goal , and just two minutes later, Zoey completed her hat-trick with a short-corner goal following a shot from Molly.

With six goals scored and contributions from across the team, it was a well-deserved victory for Minehead.