HOCKEY: HAMPTON-in-Arden extended their unbeaten run to 14 matches thanks to a 5-1 victory away at Streetly which sees them extend their unbeaten run at the top of the Midland League Division Two to four points.
The first half proved to be a tight affair with Streetly working extremely hard in defence as Hampton created a number of openings, but some wasteful finishing saw them struggle to break the deadlock.
A moment of brilliance from captain Dafydd Bowles created the opening when he left youngster Ethan Hopkins an easy finish to put the league leaders 1-0 up at half-time.
The visitors upped their intensity in the second half and their efforts were rewarded with goals from Chris Popplewell, Bowles and Hopkins grabbed a second.
Streetly continued to push forward and their efforts saw them grab a consolation before Jas Ghata-Aura added a fifth for Hampton.
Hampton will be looking to extend their winning run to 15 games this Saturday when they host Finchfield on Saturday.
Elsewhere, Hampton ladies were determined to put last week’s sluggish start behind them at mid-table Atherstone where they dominated possession from the word go.
The strong start was rewarded early on when a well crafted move finished with Naomi Ennis finding the backboard with a reverse tap.
Hampton doubled their lead soon after following good work from Erin Killaspy who crossed from the byline for a simple tap in for Tam Lucas.
The visitors knew that a third goal would seal the tie and pressed home their advantage with a well planned short corner resulting in a goal for Kat Vaughan to take a 3-0 lead into the break.
Hampton did not lose focus and were determined to consolidate their performance with a clean sheet and more goals.
They were able to add one more goal to their tally when Emma Maslen capitalised on an error from Atherstone with a great strike to round of a comfortable 4-0 victory.
Next match up for the ladies is a trip to Sutton Coldfield.
