Goals flow in the rain

Gorleston 3, Harleston Magpies IV 0

IN Division Three North East of the NE14 East Mens Hockey League, Gorleston entertained sixth-placed Magpies IV at their Cliff Park Community Pitch home on Saturday and ran out comfortable winners after scoring three times in a rain-swept first half.

Still missing Mark Vaudin and Andrew Lilly - the former it seems has now been ruled out for the rest of the season with his cruciate ligament football injury - and with Jason Austin and Jamie Higginbotham from the previous week's victorious nine-man team also away, Gorleston welcomed back Richard Pallant, Simon Long, Jonny Mobbs and Adam Stone. All made important midfield contributions in an otherwise evenly-matched game.

Early on it was the visitors who set the pace but Barney King in the Gorleston goal was at his very best apart from one error which he immediately redeemed with a fine save. Thereafter his presence gave solidity to a back line which seldom looked in trouble.

Again, however, it was the Gorleston forward line which looked the more dangerous on the break and after 10 minutes James Clarkson fired home the first goal.

This was followed not long after by an Adam Stone reverse sweep which a defender could only helplessly deflect into his own net, and the writing was on the wall for the visitors' youthful development squad.

Five minutes from half-time Gorleston notched their third goal when, from a short-corner stop by Martyn Vaudin, James Clarkson's strike was deflected past the keeper by Simon Long.

At this point this point the rain ceased, and in a sun-bathed second half the game was played out with both midfields dominating, Gorleston having done enough to seal a victory which lifts them above their next opponents Dereham III into fourth place on 27 points.

That game's pushback at noon in Dereham and transport leaves the Albion at 10.15am.