Kelly at the double as Newbury and Thatcham beat Milton Keynes
Newbury and Thatcham Hockey Club bounced back from an opening day 3-2 defeat at the hands of Aylesbury with a 2-0 win over Milton Keynes 2 at the weekend.
The result moves them up to fifth in the league table as they begin life in the South Central Men’s Division 1 North following relegation last term.
Hallam Kelly was at the double as he helped his side to their first win of the season and captain Lawrence McCabe is confident it’s the start of a successful campaign for his side.
“We did really well to beat Milton Keynes, I thought we were the better side throughout, we probably deserved a couple more goals,” he said.
“I think the biggest positive actually was the clean sheet because we hadn’t kept a clean sheet for a very, very long time in league matches.
“It gives us a real platform to build on now, we couldn’t have asked for much more.
“We were disappointed to lose to Aylesbury, I felt we probably deserved something.
“We took a while to get going, we were a bit off it in the first half, we didn’t start as well as we could’ve done.
“We were much better in the second half, we won it 1-0, and I think that helped build up some confidence going into the weekend."
In pre-season McCabe said his side were capable of a “top third” finish and now believes that’s the least his squad should be aiming for.
He said: “I’m pleased with the shape we’re in, there’s still room for improvement, we could probably be a bit more clinical, but I think we’re in a good place.
“There’s a good feeling around the team, we all know how difficult last season was but it feels like we’ve turned a corner.
“I think that top third finish has got to be the minimum we should be expecting now.
“It’s always hard to tell when we’re two games in, but we’ve done so many things well that I see no reason we can’t push on now.”
Newbury will be hoping to build upon their solid start to the season with a trip to Oxford Hawks 3 – who are one place above them in fourth – on Saturday.
It promises to be the beginning of a difficult run of games that sees McCabe's side host second placed Marlow 2 in a fortnight and travel to undefeated league leaders Wallingford – who have scored 12 goals in their first two matches – in the second week of November.
Elsewhere, Newbury and Thatcham Hockey Club's women's team were thumped 5-1 at South Berkshire as their difficult start to the South Central Women's Division 1 North campaign continued.
It was their second successive 5-1 defeat, having lost at home to Oxford 2 on the opening weekend, and leaves them bottom of the table with a -8 goal difference.
Next up for Newbury is the visit of Reading 3 this weekend.
Having played the division's top two sides, Newbury will be more hopeful welcoming a side that sit eighth in the table having drawn once and lost once so far.
The men's second team have also endured a difficult start to the campaign, but did at least register their first point of the South Central Men's Division 2 North season following a 1-1 draw with South Berkshire 2 on Saturday.
Player of the match Andrew Hornby's first half strike ensured the spoils were shared between the two sides, who returned to their respective corners of Berkshire with a point apiece.
There was much better news for the women's second team, who are top of the South Central Women's Division 1 Thames league after back to back wins.
A hat-trick from Mary Cavanagh helped the ladies to three points on the road as they beat Marlow's fifth team 3-1 at the weekend.
Elsewhere, the men's third team recovered from defeat on the opening day, thrashing Milton Keynes' third team 5-2 thanks to goals from Andy Hastings, Ed Langdon, Francois Kilian, George Rimmer and Henry Durie.
Goals from Romilly Reynolds and Whitney Burnett helped the women's third team record their first win of the season, beating Slough's third team 2-0.
The ladies welcome second bottom Maidenhead 4 to Henwick this Saturday.
