Bridgwater Hockey Club, Inter-club friendly
Bridgwater Men’s IV 7, Bridgwater Ladies I 0

THE first game between Bridgwater’s men’s fourth team and Bridgwater Ladies first team for over ten years saw the men run out comfortable winners.

Despite using 33 players throughout the season, Bridgwater men’s fourth team have managed to maintain a constant team formation and pattern of play and this stability meant they soon opened the scoring, as Steve Pigden tapped in following skilful play from Sam Beasley.

Amy Burridge, Donna Cooper and Julie Morrish did their best to keep out the men’s attacks before eventually Mike Davidge added a second, soon followed by a third from Kody Fludgate just before half time.

Despite the scoreline, the first half had been fairly even in terms of possession and chances but the men’s pace and strength in the second half was slightly too much for the ladies, some of who had played an earlier game.

Beasley added a fourth before Pigden scored his second and Bridgwater’s fifth.

The ladies rallied and came close to pulling a goal back but any momentum was lost following an injury to Lorraine Hollidge. Play resumed after an extended break with Fludgate scoring the final two goals to complete his hat trick, making the final score 7-0 to the men.

Men’s team captain Steve Pigden said: “Regardless of the result, this was a valuable opportunity for two teams to play against teams of a different skill set than they normally face during the league season.

“For the men, the ladies short passing and good individual skills proved a challenge, while for the ladies, the men’s strength, pace and commitment probably proved to be the difference between the two teams.”

Ladies captain Amy Burridge praised three of her players who worked tirelessly despite having played a game earlier. She said: “Special thanks goes to Meg Weston, Hayley Williams and Suze Daw, who stepped in to make up numbers having already played in the Ladies’ 2nds game.”