Stroud Men’s 2nd XI 6 Lansdown A 1

STROUD hit Lansdown for six.

Ben Orme scored a hat- trick with some clinical finishing. Ben Lilly, Tom Sharpe and Tim Norman were also on target.

Craig Breddy made several smart saves and youngsters, Alex Richards and Ed Golding looked comfortable alongside their more experienced team-mates. Now sitting slap bang in the middle of the table, Stroud M2 face a difficult away game against leaders Bourton and Sherborne on Saturday.

Lansdown A 1 Stroud Men’s 1st XI 2

GOALS from Alex Waring and Rob Fynn maintained Stroud’s third place in the table.

Stroud Ladies’ 1st XI 0 Lansdown Ladies’ 2nd XI

0n the face of it this looks an unexciting result, but Stroud produced a good performance against an extremely physical Lansdown side. The hard-won point y puts them six points clear on top at the half way stage.

A little polish and fine-tuning over the Christmas break should give them a good start in the New Year.

Ross-on-Wye 8 Stroud Ladies’ 2nd XI 2

STROUD made a great start to their match against Ross -on - Wye on Saturday.

They looked the stronger team and within five minutes Carrie Sanders rifled home. Unfortunately, this seemed to awaken Ross and they equalised within minutes.

Ross played great hockey, relying on persistent marking, strong interceptions and short, fast passes, racking up a further three goals, their confidence growing with each one.

Half- time gave Stroud a chance to regroup and in the second half they put up a good fight. Ross continued to play well, however, and were rewarded with a further four goals but Stroud fought hard across the pitch.

Stroud netted a well-deserved second goal by player of the match, Nic Kelly-Davies, late in the game.

Lydney A 7 Stroud M3 0

STROUD faced division leaders Lydney A away.

Starting the day with a bare 11, they were rescued by late recruit Joe Freer, giving them an extra man.

Stroud knew they would face strong physical opposition but went into the match with a strong spirit and the drive to make a game of it. They lined up with Bryn Nicol in the goal, Joe and Harvey Freer defending wide and Bob Brewer and Matt Watts in central defence. Jed Stening, Alex Elder, John Osborn and Nigel Slater played midfield with Dom Creech, Ben Evans and Chris Bargh taking the forward roles.

The game started with both teams moving the ball well, but Stroud came off second best in the run of play. Lydney pushed hard and Stroud conceded goals from short corners and open play.

Stroud were a little uncomfortable when they had the ball and were quickly closed down until they started to use the space and keep the ball away from the opposition.

At the break, Stroud were several goals down but still had fight left in them.

They moved the ball well with a spell of dominant play in the second half but couldn't find a goal. As Stroud pushed forward to try and get a consolation goal the opposition defended strongly and broke back to increase the lead.

The final score was 7-0 but against a strong side who have not lost a match this season, Stroud should be proud of their performance.

Great work from Alex Elder, man-marking in the middle of the pitch and making things difficult for the opposition midfield. Solid defending and great work rate from both Freers at the back, covering a lot of ground the entire match. The forwards had a difficult job against a strong midfield and defence who kept on the pressure, but there was good movement on the flanks and when the forwards created space running wide they would have scored against any other side.

Stroud B sit mid table with one more game to play this half of the season. They have played all the strongest sides away from home and are eager to win points from the return fixtures at home next year.

The younger players have grown into solid team players and have learned much from the older players who have passed on their passion and commitment to the game and the club.