The perfect start to 2026 for nine-goal City of Peterborough Ladies and a happy day for the Hawtin brothers
It was a perfect, if belated, start to 2026 for City of Peterborough Ladies.
The East Hockey Division One North table-toppers returned to action by beating Dereham seconds 9-0 at Bretton Gate before hearing title rivals Cambridge City fourths had lost for just the second time this season.
That means City of Peterborough have a three point lead at the top and a superior goal difference, by 25, over their county rivals.
Dereham made life tough for City conceding just twice in the first-half to Breesha Foxton and Lily Craven before the floodgates opened after the re-start. Top scorer Craven completed a hat-trick with Foxton adding a second goal. Matilda Halford also scored twice with Elana Walker and Hannah Grimshaw also on target.
City will expect to maintain momentum next weekend when they travel to next-to-bottom University of East Anglia.
Wisbech claimed a welcome win at this level by seeing off Spalding 4-2. Becky Gillick scored twice with Lilian Ley and captain, and player-of-the-match, Izzy Pope also netted.
Standings: 1 City of Peterborough P13 34pts, 2 Cambridge City IV P13 31pts, 3 Norwich Dragons P14 30pts, 4 Sudbury P13 30pts, 5 Cambridge South P13 28pts, 6 Norwich City P13 20pts, 7 Spalding P13 12pts, 8 Dereham II P13 12pts, 9 St Neots P13 11pts, 10 Wisbech P13 10pts, 11 UEA P13 9pts, 12 Ipswich II P14 6pts.
City of Peterborough fielded 16 teams over the weekend with eight wins and eight defeats recorded. Among the winners were City men’s sixths, the East Division Six leaders, who beat Wisbech 6-0 with Wayne Humphreys bagging a hat-trick.
Gary Hales was another hat-trick man as the club’s over 45 team beat Ipswich & East Suffolk 5-0, while Will Hawtin claimed a treble in a 5-2 win for the under 16 boys against Waltham Forest.
It wasn’t a bad day for the Hawtin brothers as Max scored the men’s seventh team goal in defeat against Wisbech.
Emily Kinnear scored four times as City Under 16 Girls beat Harrogate 8-0.
Other wins: Men's 2s 4-1 vs Cambs City (Oliver Drake, Tom Tuffnell, Tom Seaton and Trevor Matthews); Men's 4s 4-2 v St Ives (Manny Patel, Neil Lake, Will Astbury, Ewan Fletcher); Men's 6s 6-0 v Wisbech (Wayne Humphreys 3, Phil Martin 2, Stuart Dawson); Men's over 45s 5-0 v Ipswich East Suffolk (Gary Hales 3, Ian Dunnett, Neil Burford); U16 Boys 5-2 v Waltham Forest (Will Hawtin 3, Harry Ingram 2); U14 Girls 5-4 v Hertford (Yasmin Hawkins 2, Isla Hastings, Matilda Wren, Isabelle Diamond); U16 Girls 8-0 v Harrogate (Emily Kinnear 4, Annabelle Harmer 2, Tallulah McGreevey, Clea Treharne)
Defeats: Men's 3s 1-2 v Cambs City (Ed Hales); Men's 5s 1-6 v Wisbech (Dan Needham); Men's 7s 1-2 v Wisbech 3rds (Max Hawtin; Lee Punter 2); Men's 8s 0-6 v Bourne Deeping; Women's 2s 0-4 v St Ives; Women's 3s 1-2 v Cambs City (Hayley Jeal); Women's 4s 0-3 vs Cambs City; U14 boys 0-7 v Harleston Magpies.
Wisbech men 1sts lost a thriller 6-4 to second-placed St Ives in East Division Two. Wisbech led 4-2 at the break with goals from Johnny Garner (2), Dom Stannard and Kieran Hallett before St Ives hit back to win.
Wisbech Ladies 4ths gained an excellent draw 11 draw against East Division Five leaders Oundle. Annabelle McGregor scored the Wisbech goal.
Other Wisbech scores: Ladies 2nds beat Spalding 3-2 (Laura Dudley, Jodie Peggs, Lily Cooper); Ladies 3rds beat Long Sutton 2-1 (Fiona H-P 2).