Bishop's Stortford1

Crostyx2

(Printwize East Premier A' League)

BISHOP'S Stortford and Crostyx met in a top-of-the-table clash at the weekend and, true to form, it was a tight game with only a single goal separating the teams at the end.

Crostyx, who were third going into the match, climbed to second after the 2-1 win with Stortford dropping to third, leaving Harleston Magpies heading the table.

Considering that Stortford and Crostyx were the two leading scoring sides in the league, the fact that only three goals were scored was indicative of how close the game was.

Halfway through the first half Crostyx, perhaps a little luckily, were given the advantage when a shot struck John Shepherd a couple of feet off the ground and fell to a Crostyx player to tap in as all around him stopped expecting dangerous play to be called.

Stortford rallied but the score remained 1-0 at the break. Immediately from the re-start Stortford forced a penalty corner, and although the injection was wide, Vernon Brown improvised and fired low to the keeper's left to level the scores.

The game never really opened up, and remained tight to the end. However, Crostyx managed to convert a penalty corner via a slight deflection midway through the second half, while Stortford, who had a string of penalty corners towards the end, couldn't find a way through.

Stortford skipper John Shepherd was disappointed with the performance: "We've now lost at home to the two sides above us by the odd goal, and we simply have to win away against both Crostyx and Magpies in the New Year.

"We've missed our chance to stretch out a lead before the Christmas break and that puts the pressure firmly back on us."

Next week Stortford play Ipswich & East Suffolk at Hockerill.

STORTFORD: Darren Brown, Vernon Brown, Tom Bull, Tony Colclough, Richard Jones, Daniel Lochhead, Matt Morris, Ed Peachey, Scott Shearing, John Shepherd, Mark Slack & Craig Smith.

December 13, 2001 13:48