North Devon Men cruise to overwhelming win over Torbay

North Devon Hockey Club Men’s 1s hosted Torbay Men’s 1s and produced a commanding performance to claim an emphatic 6–0 victory.

From the first whistle, North Devon set the tempo, dominating possession with crisp, confident passing and impressive movement, on and off the ball.

It didn’t take long for the home side’s pressure to tell, as Man of the Match Pete Smale’s first strike of the afternoon took a wicked deflection off a Torbay defender and nestled into the net to open the scoring.

With the early lead secured, North continued to press, creating chance after chance. Their second goal came from a moment of individual brilliance by Sam Kirkness, who skilfully weaved his way past several defenders before finding Smale in space. Smale made no mistake, driving the ball low into the bottom corner to double the advantage.

North’s third came just before half-time after a lightning-fast counter-attack. Smale and Ash Thorne combined superbly, slicing through the Torbay defence with precision passing. Smale finished the move clinically, giving the home side a comfortable 3–0 lead at the break.

After the restart, little changed as North maintained control of the game, showing discipline and determination in every area of the pitch. Their attacking intensity soon brought more reward when Archie Shawcross’s goal-bound shot took a deflection, and Smale reacted quickest to produce an outstanding volley for his fourth of the afternoon.

The relentless pressure continued, and Joe Taylor-Richards used his blistering speed down the flank to outpace the defence before squaring the ball to Smale, who cleverly flicked it home to make it five.

To cap off a superb team performance, Shawcross stepped up late on to convert a thunderous drag flick into the top corner, sealing a dominant 6–0 win.

It was a complete display from North Devon: solid defensively, creative in midfield, and ruthless in front of goal. The result extends their strong start to the season and sends a clear message to the rest of the league.