REDDITCH continued their encouraging West Midlands Premier Division form as they secured a 4-1 home win over Berkswell & Balsall Common on Saturday.
Enjoying playing on the new astroturf surface at their Bromsgrove Road home, the Kingfishers are playing some creative, attacking hockey under the coaching of Wayne Beard and were dominant in their performance against a Berkswell & Balsall Common side who earned a draw against Redditch in November.
Redditch were in control from the first whistle as they kept possession and created good chances. A tactical change from the sidelines allowed for Jacob Beard to play a more advanced role and the decision was rewarded with two first half goals after some good build-up play involving midfielders James Makin, Josh Brown, Connor Adams and Chris Thomas.
A third goal was added before half time courtesy of a thunderbolt strike from captain Andy Billingham from a short corner.
The second half was equally dominant as the Redditch defenders had little to trouble them, particularly with one of the team’s youngest players, Harry Williams, putting in a strong performance at right back.
Goalkeeper Joe Cardy was on hand to clear the chances that Berkswell did produce before Redditch top scorer Harry Capewell scored his 15th goal of the season to make it 4-0.
Berkswell scored a late consolation goal but the game was won and Redditch sit fourth in the league after achieving promotion last season. They have won eight, drawn two and lost five of their 15 games.
They face a tough end to the season with fixtures against all of the top teams including a visit to third-placed local rivals Bromsgrove on Saturday before matches against top two sides Solihull Blossomfield and Sikh Union.
THE LADIES 1st XI are also enjoying a successful season as they sit third in Worcestershire League Division Two.
They are three points behind the leaders with two games in hand. Redditch have not lost a game all season, winning eight of their ten games so far.
Most recently they beat leaders Kings Heath Pickwick 4-1 thanks to a superb team display, the highlights of which were the reverse stick goals scored by Anna Dawson.
ELSEWHERE at the weekend, the men’s 2nd XI suffered a 6-1 defeat at Hampton-in-Arden.
The loss came after several first choice players were unavailable. Youngsters from the 3rd XI who played in their place performed well but were unable to match their opposition.
The team are enjoying a positive season after also being promoted last term. They are currently seventh in 2nd XI League West Midlands Premier Division having won six, drawn three and lost seven of their games.
The men’s 3rd XI picked up a 6-0 victory at home to Market Drayton which moved them into second place in 3rd XI League West Midlands Division One.
Redditch are two points off top spot having won ten and drawn one of their 14 matches. The team, captained by club head coach Wayne Beard, put a strong focus on youth development and recent form has been impressive with the Kingfishers unbeaten since December 9 including a 5-0 thrashing of table-toppers Streetly and 7-0 thumping of fourth-placed Aldridge & Walsall.
Redditch men’s 4th XI have had a more difficult season in terms of results with 13 defeats from their 16 games.
Last weekend the team, led by Josh Checkley, battled hard and were unfortunate to go down 3-2 to Edgbaston 8ths. However, the 4th XI also boasts some of Redditch’s newest recruits with members having joined through the club’s various Back to Hockey programmes.
The club are currently midway through another cycle of sessions, taking place on Monday evenings between 7-8pm at Redditch HC at a cost of £5.
The Ladies 2nd XI also have several Back to Hockey recruits in their ranks. The team are playing league hockey for the first time in several seasons and have fought valiantly each week with some fantastic team spirit under the leadership of Kayleigh Young.
They sit eighth in Worcestershire League Division Three having won one and drawn one of their ten league games.
