It was a tough weekend for West Herts Hockey Club as a number of their sides went down to defeats.

The men’s Firsts were no match for Richmond in the National League East Conference as they fell to a worrying 4-1 defeat to their fellow strugglers.

Richmond came into the game with a solitary win to their name all season and the sides looked fairly well matched in the early exchanges.

However, a fourth-minute goal from Charlie Ellison saw the momentum swing decidedly away from the Stags.

Ellison made the most of his side’s growing confidence to add his second inside a quarter-of-an-hour.

Mike Penney notched a third just before half-time and Jordan Hassell made it 4-0 in the second period.

Pete Corbridge bagged a late goal for Herts but it was little more than a consolation.

The men’s Seconds were beaten 3-2 by Havering, despite Robbie Waddup and Tom Martin getting on the scoresheet.

The Thirds lifted the mood somewhat with a 3-2 win over Blueharts Seconds in East Division 2S, but there was a 6-0 trouncing for the Fourths against Hertford.

The ladies Firsts also struggled in their East Premier Division game against Cambridge City and went down to a 4-2 loss.

They enjoyed a big win over Cambridge University the previous week, but were someway off the pace in a deserved defeat.

The ladies Seconds were also in no mood to celebrate on Saturday when they took on East London Seconds and lost 4-0.

That result was matched by the Thirds in their Five Counties Premier game with Leighton Buzzard.

The Fourths did, at least, manage to take something from their Division One clash with Leighton Buzzard Seconds.

Rachel Aldridge’s early goal gave them the ideal start, but Herts sat back too much to allow Buzzard to turn the game around.

Sam Rothwell’s goal ensured the points were split.