Torbay Hockey Club show resilience across the Leagues despite mixed fortunes

It was a dramatic and hard-fought weekend for Torbay Hockey Club, with all five senior sides in action across the regional leagues and plenty of talking points to emerge.

The Men’s 1XI were firmly in control of their away fixture against Bude 1XI and looked set to strengthen their position in the league after goals from Joel Heagney and Max Burrows put Torbay on top. However, the contest was abandoned in the second half with the score level at 2–2 following a very serious injury to a Torbay player, bringing a premature and sobering end to a match the visitors had been dominating.

There was a standout result for the Men’s 2XI, who produced a superb performance to earn a vital point against third-placed Exeter 2XI. Goals from Josh Perry and Ben Till secured a deserved draw and marked a huge improvement on the reverse fixture, where Exeter had run out 8–0 winners. The result keeps Torbay right in the mix as the season enters a crucial phase.

The Men’s 3XI were left frustrated after a 4–0 defeat to Ocean City 4XI. Despite the scoreline, Torbay created several promising chances and showed good energy throughout, but a lack of finishing proved costly as the hosts made their opportunities count.

In the women’s leagues, the Ladies 1XI picked up an important point in a 2–2 draw away at Dart 2XI. Goals from Lydia Bevan and Leah Paine had put Torbay 2–0 ahead, and while they were unlucky not to take all three points, the draw was enough to lift them off the bottom of the table and up to ninth place.

The Ladies 2XI also shared the spoils in a tightly contested 1–1 draw with Tavistock and Launceston 2XI. Roberta Rabbitts found the net in a result that keeps Torbay firmly involved in the battle for third place in the league.