Tense '“ it's all going down to the wire for Berko's sides

There are a number of Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead Hockey Club teams at both ends of their respective league tables with their seasons going down to the final few nail-biting games.
The Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead Hockey Club ladies first team registered a crucial 1-0 win at the weekend.The Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead Hockey Club ladies first team registered a crucial 1-0 win at the weekend.
The Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead Hockey Club ladies first team registered a crucial 1-0 win at the weekend.

This starts with the ladies’ 1sts who put in a resilient performance against local rivals West Herts on Saturday and came away with a crucial 1-0 victory.

Player-of-the-match honours went to keeper Vicky Stanwell for her string of amazing saves. The victory keeps them out of the relegation zone for now but this Saturday’s crunch game against Hertford is a must-win encounter.

The men’s 3rds continued their modern take on The Great Escape with a stunning 4-2 win against Hertford. This win against the team just above them in the standings was all the more gratifying because Berko were 2-0 down at half-time.

With three games left, the side needs two more wins to be safe. They have a great chance to secure one of those this Saturday against already-relegated West Herts.

The ladies’ 3rds were equally formidable in their 1-0 away victory at Bedford.

The only goal came from Emily Alderson after an amazing reverse-cross from Sophie Lawrance. The player-of-the-match award went to Joanna Fisher, who worked her socks off .

The team are third in their league with four games to play and three of those are against teams at the bottom end of the table, so promotion is within their grasp.

The ladies’ 2nds had a tough game against promotion-challengers St Neots.

Berko found it difficult at times but they fought hard as a team and everyone deserved to have a ‘Girl of the Game’ title. They may have walked away with a 0-0 draw, but it felt like a win. The side still have an outside shot at promotion, especially with three of their last four games against teams at the lower end of the table.

The men’s 4ths had a difficult encounter against Hertford, made tougher by the absence of talisman Duncan Hodges, who was ill.

However they came away with a creditable 2-2 draw. The men are in third place in the league but with only three points between them and the team sitting in eighth place in the standings.

The men’s 1sts played out a thrilling 4-4 draw against Letchworth, in what was possibly their game of the season. Berko were dominant in the first-half but Letchworth had the better of the second.

Berko equalised with a penalty flick from Ed Holderness at the end of the game to snatch a draw in an exciting finale.

The ladies’ 4ths had the early game at Tring against Letchworth and they went down 2-1 in a very tight clash.

The men’s 5ths had a tough game against promotion-hopefuls Southgate Tankards. The final result was a 2-0 defeat but Berko did well to keep the scoreline close.

It was a day to forget for the men’s 2nds, who went down 14-0 against Saffron Walden.