IT WAS the second Minehead versus Minehead men’s hockey derby with the firsts being the home team after their relegation into the 2nd team league.

A strong squad for the 1’s saw them dominate the early exchanges playing some excellent hockey led from the midfield of Rob Speed and Chris Weetch. Attacks came from both wings with Ian Jeanes and Nick Jones proving to be a handful for Paul Jones and Simon Strong out wide in the 2’s defence.

A short corner for the 1’s saw an excellent deflection by Jones to open the scoring. He quickly followed with a second almost exactly the same deflection off a Speed blast into the D. Mark Bolton and Rob Speed added to the tally before the half hour was up, and it looked like the 2’s were in for a tough afternoon.

Some half-time changes saw the indefatigable Morris Burrough step into the 2’s midfield, sending Clegg up front to make a nuisance of himself.

This turned out to be a useful change as gaps appeared as the 1’s pressed high to add to their goals, leaving Heale and Richards isolated at the back. An opportunity saw the ball moved quickly from Joe Bolton in the midfield to Clegg and then out wide to Pete Cole in the D who calmly slotted home for their 2’s first goal.

Yet more spaces appeared, and again it was a superb set of passes that undid the opposition, this time seeing Burrough at the top of the D hit home to beat keeper Lee Fairbrother. Nerves were beginning to jangle in the 1’s ranks as the score crept to 4-2, but a final score by Rob Speed saw them safely home at 5-2.

On Saturday, February 1, the 2’s host Yeovil (2pm), the 3’s host Old Bristolians (12), and the 1’s are away at Yeovil.