MINEHEAD & West Somerset Hockey Club’s men’s first team faced stiff opposition on Saturday, with a home game against Isca 5s - and it turned out to be a thriller.

Their opponents sat ahead of them on points in Parrett Division 1, but Minehead had two crucial games in hand. Traffic chaos in Dunster meant warm-ups consisted of a jog and little else. The first ten minutes of the game had to suffice for both teams to find their touches. Minehead capitalized on sustained pressure early and Josh Hooper finished coolly to put the seasiders a goal ahead.

The home side continued to probe Isca's resolute defence, the visitors being well drilled and crowding out any Minehead attacks. Despite this, opportunities did arise, however with Minehead's usually clinical forwards having an off day, with these chances going begging.

The second half continued in very much the same way: Minehead building up well from the back and midfield, and Isca collapsing attacks consistently.

But, with about ten minutes of play left, Isca capitalised on a short corner and drew level, putting the pressure back on the home side. Throwing everything they could into their attacks the seconds ticked by and a couple of short corners were won for Minehead, but still the scores remained tied.

In the last minute the ball fell to player of the match James White at the top of the Isca D, and off balance he was able to lift the ball calmly, through the fracas of players, past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net, to put Minehead 2-1 up and end an exciting game.

The 2s made the short trip to Bridgwater to face their 3rd XI with key points at stake with the top two sides in the League facing each other. Despite the pressure on both sides, the afternoon turned out to be one of the most evenly competed matches of the season, with both sides playing with commitment and ambition, yet fairly and without confrontation as has been the curse of recent encounters between the two sides.

Well-umpired and controlled from the first whistle, it was a classic end to end encounter with every player on both sides involved constantly. Both sides had scoring chances aplenty, yet nobody seemed able to convert the opportunity to a score and the first half ended goalless.

The second half saw Bridgwater open up play with their strong centre forward sitting high, and a moment of pressure while Minehead were down to ten meant they could slot a goal home for a crucial lead.

Minehead’s efforts increased with stand-in skipper Druitt, as always leading from the front, and an equalizer fell to Clegg with barely five minutes left. Taylor’s demands for an eleven-man defence worked, and Bridgwater’s final efforts were thwarted for what all agreed was a well-played draw.

This weekend is the half-term break and sees the 1s host Chard in a rescheduled match which starts at 10 a.m. The rest of the club head to Torquay for a much anticipated mini-tour.

League action for all sides starts again on the 28th February as Men and Ladies 1s both face Sidmouth & Ottery, the 2s go to Mid-Somerset and the 3s are set to go to play Bridgwater 4.