Two convincing victories saw Halifax march to the top of the college hockey standings yesterday, as they easily brushed aside both Vanbrugh and Alcuin in ruthless fashion, recording 7-o and 9-0 victories respectively.
Halifax started the day next to the bottom with no points, after their opening defeat to James, but yesterday’s excellent performances have served to suggest that they will once again be challenging for the honours this year, after a disappointing past twelve months.
Against Vanbrugh a combination of skilful dribbling and incisive passing helped the side to cruise to victory, whilst their second opponents of the day Alcuin were no match for the ferocious tempo set by the largest college on campus.
Midfielder Nick Finill impressed in both fixtures, whilst forwards Helena Page and Alex Francis constantly threatened their lacklustre opponents. Defensively meanwhile the side rarely looked in danger, as the duo of Jammy Wilson and Laura Atkinson expertly marshalled the defence.
The success propels the side to the top of the table ahead of both Derwent and James on goal difference, however the latter do have a game in hand after not playing this weekend.
Derwent meanwhile moved up to second in the standings, as they brushed aside the challenge of a resilient Langwith side to claim a 3-0 victory, as Simon Varley produced a series of excellent stops on the goalline to maintain their clean sheet, whilst Chris Daniel and Fred Millar created a number of clear openings for the side in blue.
Like Halifax, Derwent have won two of their first three contests, but James still remain the team to beat, as they look to extend their mammoth unbeaten run.
The final game of the day between Vanbrugh and Goodricke was postponed, since Vanbrugh were unable to field a side. A decision has yet to be made over whether Goodricke will be handed a 3-0 victory or the fixture will be replayed at a later date.