HOCKEY: Easy win sets up Saturday showdown for City of Peterborough

City of Peterborough's East Premier A Division title hopes remain alive - and they face a Saturday showdown against leaders Wapping at Bretton Gate this weekend (March 12).
Adam Wilson (red) scored twice for City of Peterborough against Blueharts. Photo: David Lowndes.Adam Wilson (red) scored twice for City of Peterborough against Blueharts. Photo: David Lowndes.
Adam Wilson (red) scored twice for City of Peterborough against Blueharts. Photo: David Lowndes.

City, who are now the only team who can deny Wapping the title, must beat their visitors to ensure the race goes down to the final Saturday of the season on March 19. Wapping will take a five-point lead into the big game, but they also have a tough final fixture against Old Loughtonians.

Wapping’s 1-1 weekend (March 5) draw with St Albans coupled with City’s 6-1 thrashing of relegated Bluharts kept the title race alive.

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City were impressive from start to finish in Hitchin and showed off their strength in depth by promoting teenager Nicky Reddy into the first-team squad. Reddy followed in the footsteps of goalkeeper Cameron Goodey and striker Sam Anderson as members of the club’s under 18 squad to play first-team hockey this season.

Reddy looked assured and entirely at home from his first moment on the pitch, and showed how bright the future looks for this side.

City opened the scoring in the first minute courtesy of a composed finish from in-form Ross Ambler, and quickly raced to a 4-0 half-time lead with a brace of unstoppable drag-flicks from Adam Wilson, and a second from Ambler via a sharpe deflection.

Blueharts pulled one goal back early in the second half, and enjoyed their best spell, before the fitness and strength in numbers of the City side took its toll, reasserting their control with further goals from Robbie Muir and Anderson.

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This game perhaps highlighted the attributes that have made City so difficult to beat this season - fitness, pace and control, with a potent short corner routine and the ability to score via any number of different players and phases of play, four separate forwards again being on the score sheet.