Nervy win for North Devon Hockey

North Devon Hockey Club travelled to in-form Caradon who have been scoring for fun in recent weeks.

The Reds felt they must change their formation in order to deal with the Cornish side's crash ball style of play. In the first 10 minutes Caradon, started well and the long journey clearly impacted North Devon but, luckily, joint Man of the Match Sam Wormington was on hand to make some crucial saves.

North Devon then found their feet and started to play the style they are accustomed to, quick passing and chance after chance came their way. A short corner to North then broke the deadlock with a pass to Joe Taylor-Richards, which he scrambled into the goal.

The very next attack, a great team goal worked from Sam Kirkness to David Orr, who slotted in the second. North did not let off, David Orr getting his brace and Ash Thorne tapping in a fourth.

The team talk at half time was to just keep doing the same but this must have fallen on deaf ears as North invited pressure and Caradon pressed high and put the defence under pressure. Caradon scored and North looked worried. North scrabbled in defence and Sam W made numerous saves. Caradon made it 4-2 and then got a short corner narrowly went wide. Guy Cockcroft saved a shot on the line but the result still looked in question.

North had some chances but Caradon were definitely defining the tempo. However, the Reds showed their resolve and although Caradon scored again, they held out till the end. A well-deserved win on the road for North Devon.

North Devon 1st XI welcome Cornish team Duchy and former player Ben Andrews to Park School at 2.30pm on February 2 for their Vice Presidents Day followed by our annual quiz night at Tawstock village hall.

Written by Phillip Brand 

To close out January 2024, North Devon M2 hosted Exeter and Culm Vale Hornets M2 in a feisty and oftentimes fractious affair that saw the home team register another terrific victory to add to a fine winning streak and see them leapfrog the visitors (and others) into second place in the league table.

The hosts flew out of the traps in the first half, applying excellent pressure, penning in the visitors’ defensive line and demonstrating a high level of confidence accrued going into the fixture. In this early period, the home side registered a number of chances from moves woven across the park – down both flanks and through the middle – and were rewarded when Bradley Bellingham broke through to bag an opener.

While the visitors were gradually beginning to settle, the home side kept the momentum up and managed to double their lead after a fine forward move landed the ball at the edge of the D, where Ethan Jones rifled a fine reverse shot past the keeper’s right-hand side. For the remainder of the first half, however, the visitors dominated, pouncing on some silly mistakes and firing back 10 minutes before the break with a fine finish of their own from the left side of the D. While the hosts were under enormous pressure in the closing minutes, the Hornets would ultimately fail to equalise before the pause, ruing a plethora of missed chances.

Going into the second half, North Devon regained their composure and withstood early pressure from the Hornets with calm, composed defending and amassed fresh counter-attacks of their own. The visitors grew increasingly frustrated, with some choice words (directed towards the umpire, the hosts, the pitch, the opposition dugout, etc.) offered both from the sidelines and on the pitch bemoaning how the match was playing out.

The Hornets rightly saw their whiner-in-chief booked and sin-binned for a series of protestations and bad tackles. Standing firm and taking advantage of the visitors’ vexation, North Devon ploughed on and sealed the three points when Toby Spear broke through to score a third. The Hornets were unable to capitalise on a couple of penalty corners late on and the match ended 3-1.

Afterwards, captain Bradley Bellingham and others emphasised the poise and attacking flair pivotal to the win and there were smiles all round.

Written by Craig MacDonald