Harrogate Hockey Club Ladies 1s bag first win, while Men's 1s extend fine start

Now under the guidance of new skipper Evie Barnard, the Ainsty Road outfit are back in the Yorkshire & North East Premier Division following two years away.

Relegated from the Conference North at the end of last term following a season of real struggle, ‘Gate headed into the new campaign with hopes of bouncing straight back into English hockey’s third tier.

But they were beaten 4-1 at Stokesley on the opening weekend, before going down 4-2 when they visited Morpeth seven days later.

Saturday saw Barnard and her team run out on home turf for the first time, and they were able to secure a much-needed three-point haul courtesy of a 2-1 success.

Brooke Allen broke the deadlock after a quarter of an hour, though local rivals Ben Rhydding got back on terms thanks to Lucy Hartley’s 34th-minute strike.

Harrogate were not to be denied, however, and Evelyn Wright’s second goal of the season proved sufficient to decide matters.

That result leaves ‘Gate ninth in the table ahead of this Saturday’s trip to Doncaster (3pm).

The club’s Ladies 2s were held to a 1-1 draw by Wakefield 3s, Bella Vere grabbing a 40th-minute equaliser.

Meanwhile, unbeaten Harrogate Men’s 1s continue to impress in the Yorkshire & North East Premier Division, where they currently sit top of the pile.

Joe Horne’s troops got underway with a 2-2 draw at Wakefield before they beat Leeds Adel 3-2 away from home.

On Saturday, they romped to a comprehensive 4-0 win against Lindum 2s.

Charles Edmondson was the star of the show, following up his brace against Adel by smashing in an 18-minute hat-trick, which put ‘Gate in full control of proceedings.

Ben Holton then rounded off the scoring late on to leave the hosts in pole position on goal difference.

This Saturday, ‘Gate make the short trip to local rivals City of York for a 2.30pm kick-off.

Harrogate Men’s 2s drew 2-2 at home to Kingston-upon-Hull 2s in Yorkshire Division Two.

Oliver Sanderson scored twice to hand his side a two-goal advantage, though the visitors managed to fight their way back into the contest.