End of East Hockey League season for Stevenage and Blueharts

Stevenage had a successful end to the campaign for their top two sides, as both the men and ladies' first teams completed good seasons with a win. 

The men finished with a 4-1 success at home to St Albans in Division Two South West, the visitors still finishing the year in third but Stevenage up to fifth.

They managed 83 goals in their 22 matches but the disappointment will be conceding 77.

The ladies won 5-0 away to Harpenden in Division Two South West with the victory giving them third place in the table,  

Liz Phoenix opened the scoring and was followed by an open play flick by Zoe Voice to take the team into a 2-0 half-time lead.

Lucy Harvey took over in the second half though, adding two from short corners and one from open play to record a hat-trick.

Other than that it wasn't the best conclusion to the year for the others.

The ladies seconds won 3-1, beating their club-mates, the thirds, in Division Three.

They took the lead on 15 minutes through Chloe Jones and doubled that before half-time when she got her second.

The threes halved that deficit in the second period  but Steph Oliver restored the two-goal lead five minutes later.

It means the twos finish eighth, one place above the thirds, although both were well clear of the bottom three.

The fourths lost 1-0 to Division Five champions Berkhamsted & Hemel Hempstead, but there was plenty to be pleased about in the final game, especially the fight.

It leaves them 10th in the final table, the same position recorded by the fifths in Division Six, following a 3-0 loss at Harpenden.

Back in the men's section the seconds lost 4-1 to West Herts in Division Four, not the best end but a brilliant season.

They finished third and were another free-scoring side, with 90 across the whole campaign.

The thirds finished 11th in Division Five, their final game a walkover loss, while the fourths were beaten 2-1 by Bedford in the development division.

The ladies third team at Blueharts. Picture: BLUEHARTS HC (Image: Blueharts Hockey Club)

Blueharts meanwhile had a promotion to celebrate as the ladies' third team defied both Welwyn Garden City and a sudden hailstorm.

The freak weather had forced the two teams off for a brief interlude in the second half but it was just a pause in the Hitchin side's march, winning 7-0 which was good enough to keep them ahead of third-placed Saffron Walden in Division Three South West.

Jo Floor had put them ahead in the first minute before five from Josie Layton and one from skipper Rachel Campbell sealed the success.

The men’s first team suffered final day frustration as a 1-1 draw with Bishop's Stortford at Lucas Lane dropped them to third in the Premier Division.

Ethan Gaunt got the goal as the ones had the comfort of a 13 match unbeaten run at the end of the season.

The seconds had clinched their title the previous weekend but were also held on the final day, 0-0 against Bedford.

All this was despite having 20 short corners and another man-of-the-match display from Charlie Ryan.

The fourths also had a stalemate, a 1-1 draw at Cheshunt with Harry Storey on target, but that and an outstanding performance from Noah Grylls was enough for them to finish third in Division Three.

The fifths and sixths both won, however, the former beating Royston 5-2 with the Hammonds, Ben, Ashley and Oscar, scoring four between them.

Rory Williams got the other and Charlie Moore got two for the sixths in their 3-0 win over Hertford, Phil Britton also on target.

The ladies first team finished with a 1-1 draw at Upminster, Isla Campbell the scorer and Emily Fair the star player, while goals from Ana Hickling and Kate Sherwood saw the seconds to a 2-1 home win against Bishop's Stortford.

Niamh Krishman ended as the overall club top scorer for the season and was on target for the fifths against St Albans, although it wasn’t enough to prevent a 2-1 defeat.

Honor Bentley was the player of the match for the fourths in a 3-0 loss at Bedford while the sevenths were beaten 6-0 by Saffron Walden.