HOCKEY: GOALS from Chris Langley, Nick Baker and John Kane earned Warwick a 3-1 victory at home to Shrewsbury in the Midland League Division One.
All of Warwick’s goals came in a pulsating first half with Langley opening the scoring before the visitors got themselves back on level terms.
They had looked threatening with all crash-ball passes and one such pass evaded both Nick Baker and Greg Bowler to reach an attacker who score to make it 1-1.
But further strikes from Baker and Kane put Warwick in a commanding position, although they had goalkeeper Mike Howard to thanks for pulling off a series of fine saves.
After the half-time break Shrewsbury restructured bringing their centre forward back into a midfield position and going somewhat more defensive.
At the other end Warwick earned a string of short corners in the second half but none found their way into the back of the net.
Another victory pushes Warwick back up to third in the table with three more games to play ahead of the Christmas break.
Elsewhere, captain Nick Anscomb got on the scoresheet as Warwick’s fourth team tasted a narrow 2-1 defeat away at Harborne and the fifth team fell to a heavy 5-0 defeat against a strong Northampton Saints side.
The future looks bright for Warwick after the club’s Under-18s made it through to the fourth round of the EHB Cup thanks to a comfortable 5-1 win on the road at Telford and Wrekin Boys.
A fine display of attacking hockey saw Warwick actually fall behind to an early goal but the visitors responded brilliantly with Alp controlling the ball and firing a reverse stick shot past a helpless Telford goalkeeper.
Warwick’ s determination and skill in all areas of the pitch gradually took control of the second half with Alp grabbing a second as Warwick scored four more goals to ensure their name was in the hat for the next round of the draw.
In the ladies section, Warwick travelled to Kettering looking to pick up their first win of the season and they found the going tough from the start, having to defend three consecutive corners from a solid attacking line.
With concise passing between the midfield and some strong driving up the right by Emily Ingall-Tombs, Warwick looked in strong contention to get a break.
They were awarded a short corner following some fantastic attacking pressure in the ‘D’ but unfortunately could not convert as the first half ended 0-0.
In the second half, Kettering’s attack were putting a lot of pressure on the Warwick defence and with 15 minutes to go the home side scored what proved to be a decisive breakaway goal.
Anyone interested in joining Warwick should contact Dom Simpson on 07971 815761 or visit www.warwickhockey.co.uk.
