City of Peterborough HC were so close to turning a corner in the mens National League as Tierney treble boosts the ladies

​City drew 3-3 with University of Birmingham seconds at Bretton Gate when a win would taken them to within two points of safety in the Midlands Conference with seven matches to go.

City led 1-0 and 2-1, but trailed 3-2 before skipper Joe Finding completed a hat-trick of short corner strikes with four minutes to go to force a draw, which was the least they deserved.

But set-piece striking actually proved City’s undoing. The hosts converted just three of their dozen attempts whole the students scored from the only two short corners they were awarded.

Finding was pretty accurate throughout, but he found a goalkeeper in top form, while he also hit a post and suffered two superb goal-line clearances.

City dominated the early exchanges, but couldn’t get away from the visitors who would have been dragged into the relegation battle with a defeat.

The other struggling sides, Bedford and St Albans, were both beaten to give City some hope, but they have a daunting task at in-form Barford Tigers this Sunday.

City’s male teams didn’t suffer a single defeat all weekend with the seconds drawing their Division One derby with Spalding 2-2 thanks to goals from Dan Barkworth and Tom Grimshaw.

The thirds won 3-2 at table-topping Wisbech in Division Two with two goals in the final 10 minutes after they’d been reduced to 10 men. Julian Catto scored twice with Josh Morley also on target.

City of Peterborough Ladies continued their excellent form with a 3-0 East Premier Division win at bottom club Dereham, a result that lifted them out of the bottom two.

Tierney Augustine struck a hat-trick for City who have picked up 10 points from their last four matches ahead of a trip to fourth-placed Harleston on Saturday.

Isabella Weinand hit a debut hat-trick for City fourths.

East League results

Men: City 2nds 2 (Grimshaw), Barkworth), Spalding 2; Wisbech 2, City 3rds 3 (Catto 2, Morley); City 4ths 3 (Hales, Carlton, Robinson), Cambridge City 1; Cambridge City 2, City 5ths 2 (Hastings, L. Oliver); St Neots 0, City 6ths 3 (Martin 2, Hopkins); Newmarket 1, City 8ths 1 (A. Oliver).

Ladies: Dereham 0, City 3 (Augustine 3); City 2nds 2 (Thompson-Wright, Bagnall), Bury St Edmunds 0; Cambridge South 1, City 3rds 3 (Faux, Teesdale-Ward, Bowtell); Haverhill 3, City 4ths 0; City 5ths 4 (Wieinard 3, Miller), Huntingdon 0.

Junior boys: City U14s 3 (McCoy, Fletcher, Howarth), Saffron Walden 5.