Christmas arrives for North Devon Hockey Club

To cap off the first half of the season before the festive break, North Devon Men’s 2s travelled to Exeter to meet high-flying University of Exeter Men’s 7s in a spirited and, at times, dubiously officiated clash in which the hosts ran out 3-0 victors.

The away side absorbed the early pressure admirably and conceded little in the way of clear-cut chances to the hosts – sat second in the league table – thanks to some stalwart defending and fine tackling across the park.

Holding their own, North grew into the game, weaving together some enterprising forward forays to threaten Exeter on their own patch. They also had some poor decision-making to contend with, including miscalled stick tackles and an ugly clattering from the Exeter ‘keeper on forward Ethan Jones yielding nothing.

Alas, Exeter’s high press was rewarded when they broke into the visitors’ D and opened the scoring midway through the half. Undeterred, North responded, firing forward as a unit and registering a number of attempts that were either parried by the keeper or missed narrowly.

One fine back-and-forth down the left side came agonisingly close and, on a less springy pitch, would have surely been dispatched to level the match before the break.

At the start of the second half, the dynamic remained much the same, with Exeter pressing and North countering with a more reactive approach. Both teams rolled their substitutes well, keeping all areas on the park replenished and fitness levels up.

It would be the home side, however, that would extend their advantage when, following a seemingly innocuous run into the D on the far left side, Exeter’s left winger fired a shot on his strong side, which bounced horribly and fortuitously into the goal to double their lead.

Despite the deflating setback, the away team kept their heads up and stuck to their game plan, finding some joy in behind the hosts’ back line. Chances were few and far between, however, and, at the other end, the hosts managed to latch onto another fortunate bounce at the far post to score a third and put the game out of sight. North kept going but Exeter saw the encounter out to consolidate their position in the table.

In spite of the loss, captain Bradley Bellingham praised his side’s tenacity and poise as a unit against a very strong team, and all agreed that displays like this would bring rich reward in the new year.