Cambridge City drop into England Hockey Men’s Conference Midlands relegation zone after 5-3 defeat to Repton

Cambridge City dropped into the England Hockey Men’s Conference Midlands relegation zone following Sunday’s 5-3 home defeat at the hands of champions Repton.

A hat-trick from player-coach Conor Annand appeared to have secured City an unlikely point against the table toppers, but two goals inside the final four minutes settled the outcome.

Second-from-bottom City, who are one point from safety, will be on their travels on Sunday (23 March) away at University of Nottingham II.

Elsewhere, in the East Men’s League Division 1 North, Cambridge City II’s promotion hopes were dented by a 3-3 draw at UEA.

Ben Dudgeon’s two goals were cancelled out by the home side, as was Isaac Astin’s late effort.

Already-crowned East Men’s League Division 3 North West champions Cambridge City III maintained their unbeaten record this season with a 3-1 win at Ely City II.

Captain David Gibson weighed in with two goals after Sam Courtinhas had opened the scoring.

In the same division, Cambridge City IV recorded a 4-2 victory at the expense of City of Peterborough IV.

Oli Ruffle scored twice from penalty corners alongside further goals from Dave Madden and skipper Tom Scott.

Meanwhile, Cambridge City VI secured their East Men’s League Division 4 North West status after a 2-0 win over Kettering III.

Nick Turner scored for the second week running before Will Earl rubber-stamped the victory.

In the England Hockey Women’s Conference Midlands, Cambridge City surrendered the lead in their 2-2 draw at Beeston.

City appeared to be in command when goals either side of the break from Isobel Johnson and Rosabel Clark put them two-up, but their intensity dropped and that allowed the home side to fire in a pair of goals for a share of the spoils.

There was also disappointment for both Cambridge City II and Cambridge City III as they suffered defeats in the East Women’s League Premier Division.

City II were beaten 3-2 away at St Albans II, while City III went down 1-0 to Bury St Edmunds.

However, Cambridge City IV fared much better in the East Women’s League Division 1 North courtesy of a 4-1 home win over Bury St Edmunds II.

Alice Beardmore spearheaded City’s charge towards victory with a first-half hat-trick, while Sofia Esevich added a fourth goal with 20 minutes remaining.

Nina Taank and Anna Carter were both on target during the second half to lead Cambridge City VI to a 2-0 victory in the East Women’s League Division 3 North West, while in the East Women’s League Division 5 North West, Cambridge City beat Pelicans III by a 7-2 margin.

Four goals from Sylvie Garnett put City in the ascendancy, with further strikes from Hattie Emerson (2) and Faith Leader.