Saturday, January 26

Verde Recreo Hockey League

Southern Two

University of Exeter F 3

BUDE put in a decent performance but went unrewarded as University of Exeter F left the Budehaven Sports Centre with all three points.

In the blustery conditions both teams started evenly with a couple of half chances going either way, but neither side really made the most off them.

As the half wore on, Exeter fired a hopeful ball straight through the middle of the park into a crowded circle where it dropped kindly for their striker who deflected it at close-range leaving the defence very little chance to react to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

Bude responded well and created a good couple of counter attacks but no-one was able to take their chance in front of goal as each and every shot went agonisingly close, the defence played their part to ensure the game remained finely poised into half-time as epitomised by Dan Jourdain who was in excellent form.

The weather deteriorated significantly in the second-half as driving rain and gale force winds made playing conditions very difficult. But Bude began the better and were unlucky not to draw level when sustained pressure resulted in a great opportunity and with just the keeper to beat, three quick successive shots were all well saved.

This ended up being a pivotal turning point in the match as Exeter realised they needed to up their game. They duly did so by utilising their strong bench and youthfulness to create a number of meaningful attacks with spare players popping up all over the pitch.

Exeter converted one of these well-worked attacks to give them some breathing space and as Bude fought bravely for a goal, this left more gaps at the back which were further exploited by Exeter in similar fashion to give them a flattering three-goal lead.

A tactical switch late on saw Kristof Saunders drop into midfield to support man-of-the-match Paul Floyd, who had worked tirelessly all afternoon to create the link between defence and midfield where he rarely put a foot wrong.

It was this duo that pushed Bude on and eventually they got their reward as Charlie Falla was on hand to score what turned out to be just a consolation goal.

Bude spokesperson, Andy Davis, said: “We played well and can take a lot of heart from this game, but equally we know we came up a little short in every department against an efficient and skillful team who will most likely get promoted this season.”

Fifth-placed Bude are back in action on Saturday (12.30pm) when they head to Plymouth to take on a Devonport Services side who are three places and five points worse off than them in the table.

West Clubs Women’s Hockey League

South Division

Bude 2

Exeter University 3

BUDE bounced back from a disappointing draw with Tavistock by putting in an excellent performance against the promotion favourites at Budehaven Sports Centre, despite falling to a 3-2 defeat.

The home side were keen to rejuvenate their second half of the season after a disappointing draw against Tavistock the week before, however Exeter started stronger and took the lead through a nicely-worked move inside the opening 15 minutes.

Far from unsettled, this seemed to focus Bude as they started to play some better hockey with strong performances from the back, including man-of-the-match Louise Shepherd.

The pressure paid soon after as Tammy Snowsill took a quick free hit, drove to the right-hand baseline and crossed to Nim Panesar on the penalty spot, who calmly lifted the ball over the keeper with a great reverse stick shot.

Unfortunately this strong spell was disrupted by a short corner against the run of play and despite an initial good clearance from Grace Chan, Exeter managed to score from a scramble in front of goal, a lead which they took into the interval.

After the break, the hosts came out and renewed their dominance with some positive attacking play. However before they could capitalise, an unfortunate turnover led to a well-worked open play goal from the visitors to stretch their lead to 3-1.

This was to prove the only blip from an otherwise strong Bude performance in the second-half. And although the hosts were only able to reduce the deficit with a superb late deflection from Zara Higham, thanks to a powerful pass in from the top of the D from Di Old, the last 35 minutes was a fantastic performance from Bude against a well-drilled and fluid Exeter University side.

Bude are back in action on Saturday when they make the crucial trip to Taunton Vale seconds (3pm).

Although Bude are fourth in the 12-team league, just five points separate them and bottom side Isca fourths with seven games left.