Round 2 of the Salters Hire Premier League

Men's Premier League

North-West Graduates have extended their men’s Premier League unbeaten run to seven matches, including last year’s title, with a hard earned 2-1 defeat of Derwent.

After a tense first half with chances to both sides, Graduates took a 1-0 advantage before the main break through Harvey Bessell.

Angus Cooper added Graduates second goal, before Derwent halved the difference when Liam Grundy fed Henry Curtis for an important goal on his return to the side.

“The game was very closely contested, and it took us the majority of the first half to get settled with Derwent’s aggressive counterattack,” Graduates’ George Wilkinson said.

Wilkinson, who was judged best afield says the off-season change in personnel is proving to have positive impact right throughout the squad.

“Given we’ve lost some very key senior players such as Bourke, Shaw and Walker-Kidd, it’s provided an opportunity for our younger players like Oli Stebbings, Angus McMullen and Tom Dobbie to step up and play key roles.”

“I think now being a senior player, there’s an expectation to step up and be a key contributor each week, but given we have a strong leadership group, we don’t need just one player to stand out.”

“It’s still early days yet, but there is a very strong belief in the group that we have the calibre to go all the way and win another premiership.”

In other action, University bounced back from an opening round defeat to thump OHA 7-2, with new recruit Tyson Johnson dominant in a two-goal display.

Still missing stars Oscar Sproule and Keenan Johnson, University looked a completely different side to the one that faded in the second half only a week prior, turning in five goals after half-time to sink the Ships.

Despite having Ollie Smith and James Thomas return to the fold, with goals from the latter and Josh Battersby, it would be Johnson’s performance that turned heads.

University also found goals through Ben Read, Oliver Sproule, Mike McDevitt, Sam Payne and James Dick.

Canterbury was too strong for DiamondBacks, pulling away to claim a 4-1 victory and continue their winning start to 2024.

Women's Premier League

A brilliant second half fightback from Canterbury has secured a 4-4 draw with DiamondBacks in women’s Premier League hockey action.

Trailing 4-2 early in the third quarter, off-season recruit Alice Maddock tormented her old club, whilst Lions goalkeeper Allie Pocock was another strong contributor.

For DiamondBacks, Emily Donovan was a lone hand at times with two goals, whilst Maddy Clark and Olivia Farrell also scored.

“After a slow start, we built into the game well and were able to play a good team game where we moved the ball to create some good opportunities,” Lions coach Tom Beard said post-match.

“As the game progressed, our confidence and determination grew and we were able to come back from two goals down, which was a good response after a frustrating game last week.”

In analysing the team performance, Beard chose to focus on some key positives.

“It’s actually the first time we’ve scored three field goals, in addition to the penalty corner, in quite a while, and while all players did their job, Alice Maddock’s pressure and gut running was a real highlight.”

“Two goals from Sarah Wilson-Haffenden were important, while Romani Kenworthy was pivotal in the middle.”

A hat-trick to Beth Dobbie against her old club Derwent, saw North-West Graduates claim an 8-0 victory.

Grace Calvert scored twice, while Clare Rojahn, Emily Newbold and Josie Crowden also found the net, while Derwent were well served by Jessie Pankiw and Claudia Windsor.

In the final match, OHA put University to the sword with a 4-0 victory to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign.