North Devon Men’s 1s hammer University of Exeter 6s in barnstorming display

There was sunshine over North Devon this Saturday, in more ways than one, as ND Hockey Club dominated Exeter University, in a clinical display, to continue their rise up the ranks of the Division 2 South league.

Exeter were sitting two places and 12 points above North Devon and were, on paper, the clear favourites for the win.

But North had not read the script and used their wisdom and experience to teach the young pups a lesson their student loans hadn’t paid for. Coming out of the traps already in 5th gear, North bullied and bothered the youngsters and were quickly three goals to the good.

Instrumental in the physicality was man of the match Rob Parsons, who lifted the team on his shoulders, as well as the occasional opposition player, to assert his dominance on the game.

The scoring started with a fine finish from Pete Smale, coolly lifting the ball into the roof of the net when faced with a one on one with the Exeter keeper. As a wise man once said, “one brings two”, and so it was when Smale bundled in a second soon after.

Brad Bellingham showed his predatory instincts for number 3, finishing at the back post after a passing masterclass from Josh Thorne, Ash Thorne and Joe Taylor-Richards, which would have made peak Arsène Wenger smile; surely a goal of the season candidate.

Exeter were not without their chances, from open play and set pieces, but clinical keeping from skipper Sam Wormington between the poles, and three goal-line clearances from penalty corner postman Guy Cockcroft and one from Archie Shawcross, kept the shutout on the cards.

The second half brought more of the same from both teams. North quickly made it four, with Ash Thorne writing his name onto the scoresheet with an incredible aerial strike, as the ball, seven feet in the air, looked like it was drifting passed the back post harmlessly.

Thorne channelled his inner salmon, leaping and connecting, to send the ball into the top right corner of the opposition goal. Shawcross was then able to showcase his talents in attack as well as defence, ripping a penalty corner drag flick into to top left corner of the net to make it five.

Smale had plenty of time to continue his prolific scoring record, completing his hat-trick with another flick, then bagging a superb fourth that saw him round the keeper—left sprawling on the floor—to tap into an empty net.

With seven goals and a shutout, North sent the student back down south to study and reflect.

Dominance like this performance is rarely seen in such a competitive league, and North Devon will hope to take that level onto Duchy next week, with another three points needed to continue their rise up the table.

Elsewhere, the Ladies’ 1s beat Honiton Hornets 1s 0-6 on the road, the Ladies’ 2s were held 0-0 at home against Tiverton White Eagles 2s, and the Men’s 2s lost 8-0 against Exeter University 7s.