2023/24 Season - Week 1

There are 87 miles from Hitchin to Dereham but nothing separated the Blueharts Ladies 1s from their Norfolk opponents in the East Premier Division on Saturday as they came away with a 3-3 draw.

Paige Vorster gave Blueharts a first-half lead, continuing her free-scoring pre-season form. However the lead didn’t last long with the home side levelling after a goalmouth scramble.

The action was now end-to-end with Dereham making it 2-1, only for Jay Livermore to pull off an interception and score an equaliser before the break.

In such an evenly-poised game, tensions rose in the second half and the umpires produced a flurry of green and yellow cards.

Things looked bleak for Blueharts when a Dereham short corner saw them re-take the lead at 3-2 but a short corner routine of their own earned Blueharts another equaliser with Emily Jakeman making it 3-3.

That was that in terms of goals but at least the point gave Blueharts something to show for their five-hour round trip.

It was also an eventful afternoon for the men’s 1s who came out on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller against Letchworth at Lucas Lane.

Goals from Graham Burr and Ben Apperly weren’t enough for Blueharts in a match in which both sides scored penalty flicks and - as with their Ladies 1s counterparts – where the umpire brought out the yellow card.

Elsewhere, it was a Super Saturday for the Ladies 2s and 3s who both recorded excellent wins.

The 2s beat Hertford 1s 4-1 with two goals from Jules Rees and one apiece from Kate Sherwood and Chloe Luetchford. The win was also underpinned by some excellent defensive work from Charlotte Brackenbury.

The Ladies 3s defied the heat to put seven past Hertford 2s without reply thanks to an Izzy Rutter hat-trick and goals from Rachel Campbell, Lizzie Bayley, Alice Saunders and player of the match and debutant Meme Brown.

And there was a Blueharts double over Letchworth for the men’s 2s and 7s – the 2s thrashing their local rivals 9-1 while the 7s – including a number of young debutants – coming from behind to win 2-1 at Hitchin Boys School.