Battle hots up in indoor hockey league

Judane stay top of the indoor hockey league after defeating Delt-mavine but the leaders also lost to New Rev which means there is only one point between the top two.

New Rev 2, Judane 0

New Rev started the faster of the two and opened the scoring with a fast goal from Brian Irvine.

New Rev remained on top and Kevin Gifford’s slick stick work resulted in New Rev doubling their advantage. However, Judane did some brilliant fast attacking breaks with good work from Connor Regan, Chris James and Robert Smith.

The second half saw Judane step it up with the solid Inkster sisters determined not to let NR score again.

Shots from half-time substitute Johnston and Smith put pressure on the New Rev keeper and Judane were unlucky on several occasions.

Players of the match were Kevin Gifford for New Rev and Rhiannon Inkster for Jundane.

Lobblyless 6, Deltmavine 0

The game started off with both teams playing well and it was Lobbyless who capitalised with Haydn Thomason opening the scoring.

Lobbyless kept fighting for their second and it didn’t take long with James Aitken scoring from a tight angle for his first of the night.

Deltmavine reacted with good attacking play from Alastair Williamson and Lee Balfour but they were stopped by super saves from Kristoffer Thomason in goals for Lobbyless and by defender Gwen Malcolmson.

Thomason and Aitken soon got their second goals with good play from Brenda Leask to help create the attack. Lobblyess struggled to score for a while with good defend-ing from Deltmavine’s Nicola Blance and Jenna Johnson.

Aitken got his hat trick after some great passing from Thomason and Rowan Nicolson. Nicolson got her goal before the final whistle to make to make it six.

Players of the match were James Aitken for Lobbyless and Alastair Williamson for Deltmavine.

New Revolution 6, Lobbyless 2

The third game of the night started at an electrifying pace with Lobbyless nearly catching New Rev right at the start with some intelli-gent passing and movement from Haydn Thomason and James Aitken.

But it was New Rev who broke the deadlock with a good breaking run through the Lobbyless defence and Kevin Gifford finishing off nicely. It was not long until Lobbyless were back on level terms with a shot from distance from Brenda Leask finding the bottom corner of the goal.

New Rev stepped it up a gear and from some good play from the team they were able to increase the lead with two great goals from Kristan Robertson after some neat close control.

New Rev scored one more before half time with a thunderbolt by Stacey Laurenson from a short corner.

The second half started brightly with Lobbyless pressing New Rev back with some great play from Aitken, Thomason and Gwen Malcomson and after a good deal of pressure Lobbyless got a goal back with a great finish from Thomason.

That lifted the Lobbyless team and if it wasn’t for some great defending from Ava Sim it could have been more.

New Rev were relying on their fast counter attacks and managed to hit two more with Gifford dancing through the Lobbyless defence to score his second.

Then a great passing move involving Bryan Irvine, Kate Moncrieff and Peter Sharp ended with Sharp slamming it past the goalie to make the final score 6-2.

Players of the match were Peter Sharp for the New Revolution and Haydn Thomason for Lobbyless.

Judane 7, Deltmavine 3

It was not quite the Valentine’s Day massacre that was anticipated; in fact the match was a hotly-contested affair.

Judane signalled their intent my making some early penetrating runs, one of which resulted in Allan Johnston poking the ball home. Jess Bradley was next to get in on the action when she rammed home a second.

The goals stimulated Deltmavine into action and they drew level, first through a delicate Danny Peterson prod, then by Alister Williamson after a lovely bit of play.

Two or three times both defences flirted with disaster, yet the Inkster sisters, Jenna Johnson, Nicola Blance and Lauren Devonald coped well.

Judane managed to score before half time, however, when Connor Regan burst through the heart of the DM defence, drawing back his bow and firing an arrow of a shot right into the corner.

The second half started at a stunning pace with the tackles flying in. The effort shown by the DMs wasn’t enough, however, as Judane increased their lead with goals from Johnston, Robert Smith and two from Regan to complete his hat trick.

The DMs had one final fling when Danny Peterson thrust home the final goal.

Players of the match were Nicola Blance for Deltmavine and Connor Regan for Judane.

Fixtures

Tomorrow: Crusaders v Judane (Saracens) at 6.30pm; Saracens v RECKless (Ness) at 7.30pm; Cru-saders v Ness (RECKless) at 8.05pm; Ness v Saracens (Crusaders) at 8.45pm.

The George Robertson Knockout Cup will be staged on 13th and 20th March. Teams wanting to enter a team should get in touch with Peter Sharp before 20th February at [email protected] or on 07717 228976.

Meeting

Shetland Hockey Association is holding a general meeting on Tues-day to discuss future developments for the inter-county squads.

All players interested in training for the county this year are expected to attend at 6pm in Islesburgh Community Centre at the beginning of the monthly committee meeting. If, for any reason, you are unable to attend please inform your team representative or a committee member.