HOCKEY: Old Southendian’s men’s first team had to settle for a 3-3 draw against Dereham.

The opposition made their intentions clear from the start that they would sit deep, try to defend well and hit the away side on the counter attack.

Alas this is exactly what happened as they went 1-0 up through a scrappy goal.

Southendian were the better side but could not prove this on the scoreboard with plenty of possession, but missed several chances as they failed to punish the home side.

Refocused after a half-time team talk and a change in formation, the Old Boys scored shortly after the restart with Giles Davies sweeping in a perfectly placed pass from Ben Cotton.

The second goal followed for the Essex side as Ben Cotton picked up a difficult pass and managed to control and then lob the onrushing keeper to ensure the away side had a well deserved 2-1 lead.

Dereham scored another scrappy goal to equalise but Southendian managed to regather themselves and piled on more pressure to win a succession of short corners, where a change in routine allowed Davies to drag to a sliding Billy Taylor who smartly deflected in.

With the score at 3-2, Southendian seemed to be resiliently holding strong, however Dereham won a short corner with the last play of the game and scored.

Elsewhere, Southendian’s second team took the spoils in their derby clash with Southend, winning 6-0.

Man of the Match Liam Peoples scored four on the day with Josh Copeland and Jack Andrews also on target.

Old Southendian threes came just short of snatching a late draw in the top of the table clash against Basildon 1s, losing 3-2, but the fourth team recorded their first win of the season in Division 6SE, beating Upminster fourths 2-0.

Goals from Darren Fessey and Owen Stanford in the first half sealed the result and, despite dominating large parts of the second half, Old Boys could not extend the lead in a niggly encounter.

The fifth team drew 1-1 against Brentwood Academy with Jacob Chapman on target while the sixth side won 1-0 against Maldon.

Southendian's ladies first team had a top of the table clash with Havering seconds and won 2-0. 

Southendian led 1-0 at half-time with Anna Cooper on target before Beccy Williams netted an absolute screamer after the break. 

The second team came off second best in a competitive match against the Waltham Forest third team.

A defensive error after 20 minutes let Waltham Forest take the lead but the Old Girls came out stronger in the second half and soon reaped the benefits with Margaret Downing following up on a short corner to score.

A draw would have been a fair result but the Old Girls conceded a short corner late in the game and Forest succeeded in bundling the ball over the line.