Cold hands but warm hearts as Berko's clubs dig in for stretch run

Players throughout the club stepped up and earned some great results.

The men’s fourth team were up to their plucky ways again and despite conceding an early goal managed to rally themselves to a heroic 3-1 victory over Harpenden.

In a fast-paced game, Alex and man-of-the-match Joel had the opposition on the ropes with Doobi causing havoc on the Harpenden goal line. Honourable mention also went to Pete, new to the goalkeeping role this year, whose quick reflexes and natural eye for the ball meant that many of Harpenden’s shots were kept at bay.

It’s not every weekend that people get to play at the ‘home of hockey’, but it was the men’s 1st team’s privilege on Saturday to grace the blue and pink surface of the Olympic Park. Pete Allam was relentless in attack, securing a hat-trick despite Oli Bowman’s best intentions.

Putting new short-corner routines to good use and applying devastating pressure, Wapping first team were put to the sword 4-2.

In the only women’s game to survive the icy weather at the weekend, the ladies’ second team waged an incredible battle for the top positions in their league against second-placed side Hertford.

An almost impenetrable wall of defence, commanded by Berko’s Stef, provided a solid base for Terri and player-of-the-match Molly to lay siege to Hertford’s D.

Sarah’s goal will likely be judged best of the season and Berko held their heads high after a hardy performance in a 1-1 draw.

The men’s fifth team were in need of a miracle after ending Friday with only six players available and no goalkeepers on the team sheet. In true Berko fashion, five players from the fourth team stepped in for their second gruelling 70 minutes of hockey of the day. The scoreline of a 3-0 defeat barely reflected what was in fact a skilful and tireless performance from the Berko side.

Man of the match votes were shared between John B, Alex, Dawood and Pete.

A second-string second team would like to put Saturday’s performance behind them after a 2-0 reverse against Bishop’s Stortford.

A sloppy first-half resulted in the side conceding two goals and although rousing themselves for the final 35 minutes it wasn’t enough to turn it around. The dogfight for survival at the bottom of league is still very much on.