MINEHEAD Hockey Club men's first team faced Chard away on Saturday, a team who sit bottom of Parrett Div 1, and so despite a few struggles with availability, the squad was padded out with players from the rest of the club, and the outlook was good.

Minehead came out all guns blazing, and Joe Notaro-Livingstone continued his goal streak, finding the net in less than two minutes of the early action. Minehead continued to look menacing, and newly signed Kyle Wheaton scored on his debut - and against a former club.

Chard responded well and scored with a short corner. Minehead however continued probing and before half time Notaro-Livingstone netted again to make it 3-1 to the visitors.

The second half started much the same as the first, and before long Wheaton scored again to make it 4-1. Chard continued to have their moments of promise and were able to combine smartly on the counter to score, but the visitors kept a buffer with Claude Mahlich scoring from a short corner, and then Joe Notaro-Livingstone finishing a tidy upright reverse to complete his hat-trick.

Chard had the final say, however, once again scoring after stinging Minehead on the counter. A brilliant game finished 6-3, and a great umpiring display and cheerful, sporting opposition really made it a great afternoon out. It was a pleasure to see players from the 2s and 3s stepping up to the plate and performing well at a higher level. The Player of the match: Max Staniland

Minehead Hockey Club men 2nds played North Somerset at home on a cold and stormy afternoon. The game started strongly with the team keeping discipline and structure and it was soon clear that Minehead were the much stronger side. Within five minutes they had scored their first goal and within twenty minutes Minehead were 3-0 up - and very much in command of the game.

Though the opposition had some very strong individual players, the home side’s team-play focused hockey made it difficult for them to keep possession. By half time Minehead were 6-0 up and very much in the clear.

The second half was more of the same, and despite the rain and hail Minehead managed to snap up another four goals. The home side’s keeper- Baggy finally had some game time in the last ten minutes as Minehead let their guard down but he managed to keep a clean sheet. The game ended with a very convincing 10-0 win with an impressive five goals from Lawrence Taylor including a penalty flick, two goals from Joe Bolton, one each from Paul Jones (a great reverse from the veteran defender!), John Clegg and Sam Cobb.

Saturday, December 6, sees the last of this year’s fixtures as the Men’s 1s host Yeovil and Sherborne, who are one place below them in the League, the 2’s have a top-of-the-table clash hosting Bridgwater 3’s at 12, and the 3’s travel to Chard for the afternoon match with some pre-Christmas festivity likely on the journey home.

The newly-merged club now also has two mixed matches coming up at Wellington Foxes on the evenings of the 2nd and 9th December; these games represent a real step forward in the club’s ambitions for more fun and social hockey for all.