2024/25 Season - Week 10

Seven-goal Saturday thrillers were the order of the day for Blueharts Men’s and Ladies 1s – and both came through as winners.

The Men’s 1s made another long trip – last weekend Southend, this week Dereham in Norfolk – but it was another successful awayday as they won 4-3.

The side were missing a number of key players, including skipper Rich Julian and had to recover from going a goal down early on.

But the Blues hit back with a Graham Burr equaliser and then Jamie Williams – promoted to the first team after some excellent 2s performances – put his side into the lead.

Dereham hit back however with a second goal to make it 2-2 at half-time.

Mikey Williams began to run the game from central midfield and his shot was saved, the rebound being turned in by Ethan Gaunt to restore the 1s’ lead.

A goal from Chris Gadsden gave them some breathing space and a last-minute Dereham penalty couldn’t change the outcome.

The Ladies 1s also battled to a 4-3 victory over Bedford, a side above them in the league and who showed their class by going two goals up inside the first 15 minutes.

But the 1s hit back and an unorthodox finish from Ellie Johnson followed by a Jay Livermore penalty flick had restored parity by the break.

Bedford came again at the start of the second half and made it 3-2, but the Blues dug deep and Livermore rounded off a neat move to equalise once more.

The 1s could have been forgiven for settling for a point but showed that’s not in their DNA with Harriet Marsh deftly deflecting the ball into the net to give Blueharts the lead – and ultimately all three points in a real thriller.

There was another Blueharts versus Bedford clash for the Ladies 2s and they came away from an entertaining encounter with a point in a 2-2 draw.

Josie Layton gave the Hitchin side the lead only for Bedford to level after a strike from a short corner.

Solid defending from Charlotte Brakenbury, Sophie Woods, Nicarra Berry and goalkeeper Sophia Gallagher denied Bedford after the break – but eventually were breached by Bedford who went 2-1 up.

The 2s weren’t to be denied however with Kate Sherwood producing a brilliant late goal to earn a share of the points after a great game.

The Men’s 2s went down 6-1 to a powerful Old Loughtonians side, with Addison Scott scoring their consolation.

But better news for the Men’s 3s for whom goalkeeper Cameron Carr was outstanding in their 1-0 win at Rickmansworth – Matt Maylin scoring the only goal.

The Ladies 3s fought hard and played well before going down 3-1 to league leaders Bedford.

It was always going to be a challenge for the 3s but they rose to it superbly and kept Bedford at bay until they broke the deadlock from a short corner just before half-time.

Bedford added two more in the second period but Kat McLarty pulled a deserved goal back before the end.

It was a day for standout performances, notably from Jules Rees playing out of position in the screen, debutant Lyla Thompson-Wells and player-of-the-match Vicky Brakenbury.

The game was also notable for a brilliant performance from goalkeeper Amelie Roman, standing firm against a barrage of Bedford attacks.

Niamh Krishman was on target again for the Ladies 4s but they were beaten 6-1 at St Albans, while Rory Williams scored the first and last goals in the Men’s 4s 4-1 win over Potters Bar – Daniel Harvey and Chris Batchelor also among the scorers.

Two goals from Joel Davey and one apiece from debutant Charlie Moore and Pete Mitchell saw the Men’s 5s produce their best result of the season with a 4-1 win at league leaders Shefford and Sandy.

The Ladies 5s drew 2-2 at home to Harpenden, with Holly Clarke and Chloe Bugler their scorers but the Ladies 6s went down 4-2 at Letchworth, despite two from Imogen Ryden.

It looked like the Men’s 6s were strolling to victory against St Albans when two goals from Paul Krishman and one from Gavin Bidgood put them 3-0 ahead.

But two goals from St Albans put the match back in the balance and the side were indebted to some brilliance from goalkeeper Jack Jones to hang on to the points.

A Bobby Bridges brace gave the Men’s 7s a 2-2 draw at Shefford and Sandy, while the 8s march on with the club’s only unbeaten record still intact.

Goals from Tom Payne and Charlie Woodman saw them to a 2-1 win over previous league leaders Hertford, James Moore producing a man-of-the-match performance at right-back.

Goalkeeper Will Faulkner made a handful of great saves while Tom Michie marked his debut with a goal-line clearance to help preserve his side’s unbeaten start to the season.

On Sunday, the Men’s Over-45s thrashed Hertford 10-0, but the Ladies lost 9-0 to Bedford and now move on to the Plate tournament.