Durham City M2s 1 - 1 Hild Bede M1s

Following the previous goaless draw in the Maiden Castle derby, the Hornets were keen to set the record straight. Greeted with rumours of the opposition cancelling a social the night before made it clear that the 2s were now seen as a big scalp, and teams would be working hard for a victory.

After a somewhat relaxed warm-up the game ebbed and flowed and whilst Hild Bede probably had the best chances within the first few minutes, Durham worked their way back into the game and had the better chances overall. Durhams best chance came when Toby made it into the opposition D and shaped to shoot on the reverse. It's not often in hockey you see an attempted somersault during active gameplay, however such was the force with which Toby missed the ball that we were all treated to this rare sight.

The teams went into the break goaless and probably even in most other regards. Durham knew they hadn't been at their best in the first half and wanted to improve significantly in the second half. And it started well, with a period of sustained pressure resulting in a scramble in front of goal when Dan Pudwell managed to get the ball over the line, 1-0 Durham.

However, their jubilation was short lived. After receiving a ball in his own half from the sideline, Timmy Hassell was surprised by a forward who had stayed behind him. Whilst the defense scrambled, Jack flew out of the goal but was beaten by a pass to another forward leaving Chris Brown and Timmy to defend the goaline. Despite getting a generous amount of thigh on the ball, Timmy couldn't keep it out and Hild Bede drew level.

Durham piled on the pressure with everyone looking to push on. Jonny made a run from his left back position beating several Hild Bede players making it deep into the opposition 25. He had clearly been taking notes from Toby, however he didn't hit the ground with quite the same level of flair. That being said, there also didn't seem to be a reason for him falling over.

Durham pressed on and following another scramble in front of goal, were awarded a penalty flick. Dan (having missed one last week) was off the pitch and therefore was not able to attempt redemption. Toby stepped up. For the second game on the bounce, we have had to discuss the semantics of missing a flick vs the 'keeper saving it however, and the score remained 1-1 as it did until the final whistle a few minutes later.

Durham were understandably disappointed to have dropped points, regardless of the strength of the opposition. Of particular note though was the performance of Hal Meller Higton who was one of the brighter performers on the day.

MOM - Chris Brown for excellent defensive work throughout.

DOD - Toby for a missed flick and a flipped miss.

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