Blackburn walloped at Witton
Lytham Mens 1st
After the Christmas break, Lytham Men's first team looked a bit rusty as they went down 3-2 to Morecambe. Lytham drew first blood when quick thinking from Dave Hans released Chris Hadley down the wing, and Tom Atkinson was on hand to score from close range after combining with Hadley and Craig Nuttall. Morecambe then equalised before the break and took the lead shortly after half-time. Lytham equalised following a passing move involving four players , Charles Batho providing the finishing touch. Lytham goalkeeper Dafydd Jones was called upon to pull off a number of good saves. However, this did not stop Morecambe scoring the winner. Lytham will need to step up a gear when their league matches start on Saturday.
Lytham Mens 2nd
Lytham Men's seconds went down 4-1 against a Morecambe side who play two divisions above them , though this was always going to be a tough task. Lytham started strongly with Gareth Gettings staring in midfield. Unfortunately, a mistake when clearing the ball allowed Morecambe to get round the back of the defence and score against the run of play. Ten minutes later, a Lytham corner was badly taken and Morecambe broke out to score from a penalty corner. Just before half-time, good work by Masten Bouckley – sadly his last game for the club – enabled him to link up with Gettings before Adelle Brown, on temporary loan from a national league team, scored Morecambe added two more, with Lytham having just as many chances but to no avail.
Lytham Mens 3rd
After seeing off early Morecambe pressure, Lytham Men's thirds settled down to play some good attractive hockey, with skipper David Bleasedale controlling the midfield in their 4-0 win over Morecambe thirds. They were rewarded when a David Waby half volley found the roof of the net following good work by Gavin Roberts and Dave Burns, the latter also scoring with a flerce shot from a tight angle. A third goal was add by Burneft, just before the break. Lytham continued to play well in the second half and Danny Cottier-Brown scored the fourth, after which a penalty stroke was comfortably saved by goalkeeper Joe Craig.
Lytham Mens 4th
Lytham Men's fourths hit Morecambe fourths for six - and it would have been a lot more but for an outstanding performance by the Morecambe keeper
Mike Gannon opened the scoring after 16 minutes and from then on it was a rout. Excellent team passing and some good running off the hall resulted in Simon Gardiner hitting his first goal of a hat-trick. Further goals from Chris Malings and Jake Lavin were a direct result of some good teamwork, although there were several easy chances missed.
Lytham Mens 5th
Playing on an uneven and narrow grass pitch at Lythain Cricket Club, Lytham Men's fifths went down 1-0 to a robust and elderly North Stafford side.
Lytham Bagers
Lytham Badgers went down 3-0 to the same North Stafford club. Keeper Ashley Walsh made several fine saves, supported-by Andrew Taylor and James Benson at right and left-back respectively. Simon Stokes and William Stone also made promising debuts.
Lytham Womens 1st
Lytham Ladies' determined bid to win the Premier Division of the Lancashire Central Hockey Association got off to a flying start with a convincing 9-2 win over Blackburn seconds at Witton Park. However, they were knocked right back on their heels when Blackburn scored after two minutes. Ruth Blackburn equalised five minutes later with a well struck shot from the edge of the circle. Lytham then dominated the rest of the half and excellent play led to goals from Lian Atkinson, who scored twice, Ruth Blackburn and Heidi Whitehead. The second half saw Lytham continue to dominate. Whitehead scored her second and Kelly Gore added another before Ruth Blackburn scored their second goal. A good strike from Kelly Gore made it 8-2 and then some good passing moves between Atkinson and Gore led to Atkinson completing her hat-trick.
Lytham Womens 2nd
Hopes of closing the gap on the team lying four points above them in the league faded when Lytham Ladies seconds performed well below average and went down 3-1 to Longridge firsts at Ansdell Sports Arena. Helen Beardshore and Clare Roberts did well in the Lytham defence but couldn't prevent Longridge taking a 2-0 half time lead. Lytham's half time pep talk by captain Lou Herring worked, and good play by sisters Lorna and Amy Leach led to a fine penalty corner goal from Brenda Lanigan. Longridge came back though, to score their third just before the close.
Lytham Womens 3rd
Lytham Ladies thirds lost 4-0 to derby rivals Rossall seconds.