Hockey: Freescoring Adel have goals ton milestone in their sights

North Shields were last weekend’s opposition, and with the two teams having a total of 74 goals between them so far this season – the two highest amounts in the league – it was expected that a goal fest was ahead.

North Shields were obviously taken by surprise at the pace and tenacity of the home team and found themselves down by three goals before five minutes had been played.

A goal by Ben Leeming – deserved after his recent displays for the team – and a brace for Sam Harris put the hosts firmly in control of the match.

After a dynamic first five minutes, Adel experienced a rare period of complacency, and allowed North Shields back into the game with two smart goals from swift counter attacks. Less than half of the first 35 played, and five goals scored.

James Moorhouse demonstrated some good hockey to get Adel back onto the front foot, releasing Will Purdy who showed why he is the current league top scorer getting his first of the game to re-establish the two-goal buffer, before the travelling side pulled another one back, to go into the half only the one goal down, at 4-3.

Adel restarted the game, and showed immediately they had only just begun. Midfield dynamo Gareth Maver showed that he wasn’t quite ready to let the forward line have all the glory as he added his name to the scorers’ list, after some great team play and a defence-breaking run. North Shields seemed to fall apart at this point, with frustrations showing between team-mates, and Adel were quick to take advantage.

Eventual man of the match Will Purdy was at the heart of every play for the team in orange.

The second half saw seven further goals for Adel, through a combination of devastating set-pieces and fantastic team play. The final tally was a hat-trick for Purdy, two goals apiece for James Stroomer, Sam Harris and Gareth Maver, and James Moorhouse, Ben Leeming and Will Powley all with one each.

A 12-3 scoreline saw Adel pass the 50-goals mark already and, with the momentum they have, reaching 100 this season is well within the realms of possibility.

Adel Ladies 2nds took on Sheffield Hallam in the midday game at the War Memorial on Saturday, as both teams looked to close the gap on current leaders Driffield.

The first break was made by Sheffield, as a short corner was awarded owing to a mistake by the home side’s defence.

Sheffield took advantage of this opportunity and promptly went one ahead. It wasn’t until the second half that Adel got back on level terms, with some slick passing leaving the visitors tackling fresh air as the ball was slotted home at the near post. Honours ended even in a close and well-contested game.

Adel Ladies have a visit to Selby next weekend, hoping for a more favourable result.

Pudsey were the visitors to the War Memorial in the early start, with Adel Ladies 4ths wanting to grab a win and create some distance between them and the bottom teams in their league.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t to be the case as Pudsey showed why they are such a danger to any and all teams. Two goals from Lucy Warburton, who showed that her shooting practise has paid off, put the visitors ahead and very much in control of the match. It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes of the game that Adel pulled a goal back, leading to a very tense end to a fantastic competition.

Both sides should be proud of their performances, with nothing but compliments coming from the umpires who managed the game.

Adel results in full: Men’s 1sts 12 North Shields 3; Men’s 2nds 0 Lindum 4; Men’s 3rds 2 Doncaster 4; Men’s 4ths 8 Huddersfield Dragons 0; Men’s 5ths 2 Bingley Bees 2; Men’s 6ths 1 Lindum 5; Ladies 1sts 1 Newcastle 3; Ladies 2nds 1 Sheffield Hallam 1; Ladies 3rds 1 Doncaster 2; Ladies 4ths 1 Pudsey 2; Ladies 5ths 1 Airedale 4.

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Things are going from bad to worse for Leeds Hockey Club and its National League teams as both the men and women suffered defeats last weekend.

Saturday saw the ladies lose at home to a strong Leicester side and, on Sunday, the men were beaten by Loughborough Students – despite being two up at half-time. Amy Stoutt scored the only goal for Leeds Ladies as they struggled against a Leicester side who are determined to gain promotion.

Hoping to take advantage of Belper having no game, Leeds were aiming for three points and to create a little distance between them and the team at the bottom of the table.

Unfortunately, Leicester had other plans. Two goals from Olive Hepi and one from Rachel Mack saw the visiting side run out 3-1 victors.

Leicester still have a game in hand over league leaders Swansea and sit just two points below them, while Leeds are only two points above rock-bottom Belper.

On Sunday, two goals from Harry Lankfer put the men in control of their game against Loughborough Students.

But the Leeds side capitulated badly in the third and fourth quarter as the students scored three goals in a sensational 14-minute period to wrestle the lead from the home side.

A fourth goal – scored as the final whistle blew – put the icing on the cake for the travelling side as Leeds suffered from discipline problems with two yellow cards being handed out in the final 10 minutes.

The loss sees Leeds rooted firmly to the foot of the league, with a difficult game against league leaders Durham coming this coming weekend.