23/03/2026
As the sun set on Sherborne an expectant calm settled over the Oxley Astro Pitch as Buckhorn Weston Mixed Hockey Team prepared for the eagerly anticipated and long standing fixture against Hazlegrove Staff.
Looking to get revenge for the previous outings loss the start was fast paced and end to end against a strong Hazlegrove Team which contained
a mixture of young players and experience, much the same as Buckhorn. Hazlegrove were soon pressing hard but a mixture of solid defence by Max and Steve resulted in any shots going wide or being saved by Dave. Hazlegroves pace up front caused Buckhorn some issues but Steve used his experience and managed to guide them out wide then steal the ball, but unfortunately one of their passes got through and they slotted an early goal into the back of the net.
The match continued with pressure at each end with Dave making some great saves for Buckhorn. Pip was working hard in defence making some fantastic tackles then calmly managing to release the ball with composure to the midfield who were working incredibly hard in such a fast paced game with Tilly and Harry showing great ball skills and working well with the speed and running of George R, George C and Tim. Ben C was also managing to collect passes and had some solid runs and great offloads.
George R managed to get into the Hazlegrove D and had a great shot on goal with one of Buckhorn forwards perfectly placed but sadly managed to deflect the ball out of the goal rather than in it. Shortly after another ball was in the Hazlegrove D and Charley only just missed scoring a great goal.
Into the final third and Georgie and Esther had been putting in some great tackles and passes and Ben G and Ant up front had been close to scoring a few times but then one of Buckhorns midfielders broke through and Tomahawk Chalk scored into the top right of the goal. One all with only a tense few minutes remaining.
In the dying minute Hazlegrove thought they had scored the winner but after the Umpires deliberated it was decided that there had been an infringement in the lead up to it so the end result was a 1-1 draw, a fair result all agreed.
Many thanks as ever to the Umpires from both sides, without who there would have been no match. Special mention must also go to the number of supporters there who cheered on the teams, very much appreciated.
