SALISBURY Hockey firsts maintained their rich vein of form with a double header of victories at the weekend.

Firstly, they ground out an important 3-2 win against fourth place Weymouth in the league before destroying Isle of Wight (IOW) 18-1 in the Hampshire Trophy.

The Lower Bemerton outfit came into the game after one of their best performances of the season against Winchester, but early on against a good Weymouth team they struggled to find their rhythm as they trailed to a well-worked short corner routine.

This seemed to spur the hosts into life with Alfie Jones scoring a quickfire double to give Salisbury a deserved half-time lead. After the break again Salisbury were in the ascendency and, when Nick Easterbrook turned in a goalmouth scramble, the home team looked to have all three points wrapped-up. Yet, despite composed defending, Salisbury were unable to finish Weymouth off.

The visitors made them pay with a short corner that was slipped left and ruthlessly powered into the backboards.

It led to a hairy few moments but the home team eventually prevailed. And with Andover slipping up against Trojans, the gap at the top has been chopped by just seven points.

Captain Rory MacTaggart said: “Returning to the league after the Christmas break with back-to-back wins is the dream start and I couldn’t ask for more.”

On Sunday, Salisbury entertained Isle of Wight in the last 16 of the Hampshire Trophy and with two leagues separating the sides it was never a close contest.

A moment of masterclass by Max Grossmith alongside a MacTaggart double hat-trick, Tom Morton’s superb five, Chris Warde’s four and one a piece from Andy Renshaw and Alfie Jones helped Salisbury reach the quarter final where they will play either City of Portsmouth or Weymouth.

  • A BUMPY ferry crossing to the Isle of Wight, in which the boat stopped in the Solent to help rescue people from an upturned dinghy, made it a long trip to the island for Salisbury fourths. Jim Nicholson’s goal was cancelled out in a 1-1 stalemate.