Ben Rhydding men are edged out by Sheffield

Sheffield Uni Bankers 4

Ben Rhydding hosted Sheffield Bankers in arguably their toughest encounter of the season. Both teams were on equal points, with Rhydding's superior goal difference the only thing separating the sides.

Bankers began at a frenetic pace, scoring after the Rhydding defence failed to clear the ball from a goal-mouth scramble.

One minute later Ben Rhydding hit back. Australian midfielder Haslam received a through ball from Sugden on the left, crashing it into the back of the net with a crowd pleasing backstick fin-ish.

Once again Bankers pushed forward, and after seven minutes slotted home their second goal. Not to be outdone though, Haslam again drew Rhydding level with a delicate chip over the advancing goalkeeper.

The first-half continued to be a tough struggle for the home side, and Bankers, after a sustained period of intense pressure on the Rhydding defence, finished the half with another goal.

After a stern half-time lecture from coach Brian Kempson, Ben Rhydding came out firing in the second-half.

Time and again they pushed forward but it wasn't until late in the half when they managed to score the equaliser.

This time it was Dan Kelly who did the scoring, calmly finishing from close range after King and Haslam's sweet passing manouevre down the middle.

As has often been the case this season however, Ben Rhydding's defence allowed Bankers another easy passage into their attacking circle, and with just five minutes on the clock, they slammed home their fourth goal of the day.

Ben Rhydding had no answers to the final strike and left the park lamenting the loss of a big opportunity to go outright top of the league.

Rhydding travel to Durham this weekend for what will be another vital game in their premiership plans. Now fourth in the table, a win away is imperative to entertain any thoughts of winning the league this year.

Chapeltown 3

Ben Rhydding lls 2

BEN Rhydding Men's Second XI travelled to joint leaders Chapeltown missing Matt Bull, Jon Horsman and Andrew Gibson, arguably weakening the team.

However, the Ilkley side put up a spirited performance, particularly in the second-half, and narrowly failed to recover from a two goal deficit.

Ben Rhydding went ahead in the second minute through a marvellous individual effort from Luke Lambert, dribbling from his own half all the way into the opposition's goal.

Chapeltown capitalised on some inexperienced and inept defending to claim three goals in eight minutes to put the Ilkley side on the rack.

In the second-half Ben Rhydding rarely gave Chapeltown a look in but failed to score the two goals necessary for a point despite large amounts of possession.

It was vice-captain Rob Hatfield, making a rare appearance at full-back, who gave Ben Rhydding the chance of clawing their way back by crashing home a loose ball at a short corner.

Ben Rhydding will be disappointed by this defeat but should take heart knowing that they have strength in depth and can still challenge the league leaders.

Ben Rhydding llls 1

Sheffield Bankers Vls 1

Ben Rhydding Third team played a closely contested game against Shef-field University Bankers sixth team at home on the grass.

Despite both teams being reluctant to play on the sticky surface the game was played in a good spirit. Ben Rhydding were dominant in the first-half with Sutherland squandering several chances.

Sheffield came out strongly in the second-half and forced several good saves from Funnell before they fi-nally managed to score. Ben Rhydding then picked up the pace and managed to get an equaliser from a predatory strike by Vernon.

Badgers 5

Harrogate 0

The look of delight on the faces of the youngsters as each goal went in told its own story on Saturday in a comprehensive victory achieved with a dazzling display of incisive hockey.

They have had a hard season so far and this win was a welcome boost. The first-half was extremely tight with Harrogate having the majority of possession but posing few threats to Garrity's goal.

The Badgers' used the breakaway to good effect when Simon Pantelli released Hansell on the right and his pin-point cross gave Grummitt the simplest of tap-ins.

Similar sweeping moves saw Matthew Timperley and Ryan O'Keefe almost add to the score.

In the second-half, the Badgers were inspired by the example of skipper Malcom Birdsall who had risen bravely from his sick bed to play. His thoughtful distribution kept Kieren Borrett well supplied with the ball and Borrett's growing skills, confidence and passing allowed Hansell to grab two further goals.

When Hansell completed his hat-trick shortly afterwards the Badgers knew it was their day and celebrated by converting a short corner through Simon Pantelli's rasping shot.

Adel Vllls 3

Ben Rhydding Vlls 1

Following lasts week's emphatic victory Ben Rhydding Eighths could have hoped their fortunes had changed. Unfortunately, the sustained pressure from Adel made an entertaining, but ultimately fruitless, game for Ben Rhydding.

However, it was an enthused Ben Rhydding that had the initiative in the first quarter. A strong midfield took the sting out of Adel attacks and fed the speedy front three.

After a succession of through balls, D'Abundo eventually collected and after some deft skills, fed Peacock to finish off a well crafted goal.

Following this, Adel fought their way back into the game and by half- time both Laycock and Mathews Lane had retired to compare injuries and Adel had equalised the game.

In the second-half substitutes Stoker and Day did their level best to restore the initiative but to no avail. Martin in goal had another excellent game throughout but was left isolated too many times.

This was an enjoyable run around for the team, but there were too many gaps between defence and attack on this occasion to make a sustained threat.