West Herts men enjoyed an impressive 2-1 win at home to Dereham in East Premier A on Saturday.

The first half was largely constrained to midfield battles with speculative balls forward bringing little success.

Herts increased the tempo in the second half but Dereham broke the deadlock from a short corner.

The Stags needed a quick reply and it came via Dan Scott, who slotted home a rebound after Dan Webster’s initial drag-flick.

Both teams were reduced to ten men in quick succession as Herts captain Mark Buckland was dismissed for a clumsy challenge.

But with two minutes remaining, the hosts grabbed a winner when a reverse stick cross from Shea O’Sullivan was turned in by Max Webster.

Alex Hodgkinson was Herts’ man-of-the-match for a composed performance.

The Stags ladies also tasted victory but it was far more resounding as they dished out a 5-1 drubbing on Cambridge University in East Premier.

The Herts goals came from Sammy Clifft, Anna Coppel, Jen Black, Anna McGlaughlin and skipper Becky Perry.

The win takes them back up to fourth place in East Premier, heading up a tightly contested collection of teams in mid-table.

The Men’s Seconds travelled to Lincolnshire and brought home three valuable points as they beat Bourne Deeping 5-2.

Stags had to weather not only an elemental storm early on but one on the pitch too as the home side piled on the pressure from the off.

The visitors survived however, and took a first-half lead through Pete Corbridge.

Early in the second half, Herts doubled their advantage when Callum Till rounded off a swift counter-attack, and Till was on hand shortly after when he coolly slotted home to make the score 3-0.

Bourne’s attacks were always dangerous and they netted two goals in quick succession to set Herts’ nerves jangling, especially as Andy Verrinder was yellow carded soon after.

Stags’ ten men rallied and made it 4-2 when Corbridge claimed his second goal before Nick Carr sealed victory with a fifth late on.

The Ladies Seconds came from behind to beat Bedford Thirds 2-1 in 5 Counties Premier.

The visitors took the lead early on but Herts’ Charlie Bartlett and Jo Lee turned the game on its head before half-time.

Herts spent the majority of the second half defending their lead with Sian Darvill producing a man-of-the-match performance in goal.

The Men’s Thirds travelled to struggling Broxbourne II in Division 3SW and were edged out 4-3.

Herts led in the first half with goals from Jusitn Hoffman and Ian Gough but the hosts took a 3-2 lead in the second half.

Stags drew level thanks to Morné Hoffman’s goal but their opponents clinched the winner late on from a short corner.

The Ladies Thirds battled their way to a 2-1 win over Berkhamsted & Hemel Thirds in 5 Counties 1 with all the goals coming in the second half.

Herts took the lead via Lucy Matley before the home side levelled but Matley made certain of the points when she netted her second in the final minute.

The Men’s Fourths lost 2-1 at Blueharts Thirds in Division 4SW while the Ladies Fourths also suffered defeat, losing 2-0 to table-toppers Royston Seconds in 5 Counties 3.

There was a rare win for the Men’s Fifths in Division 5SW as a last-gasp winner from Pete Warne sealed a 2-1 win at home to Broxbourne Thirds.

Nils Mundy claimed the other goal.

The Ladies Fifths hammered Shefford & Sandy Fifths 5-0 in 5 Counties 6 while the Men’s Sixths got their promotion bid back on track with a 3-0 win over Berkhamsted & Hemel Fourths in Division 8SW.

The Men’s Sevenths endured a day to forget at Winchmore Hill & Enfield Fourths as they went down 11-2 in Division 9SW.

On Sunday, West Herts’ mixed team began their campaign in the England Hockey Mixed Trophy in emphatic style at Letchworth, finishing up 6-0 winners.