IT WAS even honours as Penarth Hockey Club teams faced off against old rivals Whitchurch in the penultimate round of Davis Wood Hockey League fixtures at the weekend.

Penarth 3 Whitchurch ‘B’ 4

Penarth’s senior side welcomed their Whitchurch opponents to Barry knowing that a victory would likely secure the fourth place finish coveted by the Bears. Though they were equally aware that the visitors’ lowly league position belied the narrow spread of points that covered eight of De Cymru & The Marches 1’s 12 teams.

Penarth started well and earned an early short corner which was put away by Phil Lane after he had beaten a couple of Whitchurch defenders at the top of the ‘D’.

Spurred on by the breakthrough, Penarth pushed forward looking for a second but, despite looking comfortably in charge, took their eyes off the ball and, with one bad pass, allowed the visitors to equalise against the run of play.

Revitalised by the goal, it wasn't long before Whitchurch scored again, this time from a short corner earned after a spell of pressure.

The goal was enough to ensure that the visitors went into the half-time interval with the upper hand and, while Penarth knew they would have to start the second half strongly to get back into the game, it wasn't long before the deficit doubled as Whitchurch added a third goal.

The home-side hit back, reducing the arrears as the soon-to-depart Matt Lewis claimed his first goal of the season following a well-worked move, but Penarth’s defence again undid the good work by allowing Whitchurch to again score on the counter-attack.

Desperate to get something out of the game, Penarth pushed forward and finally managed to get another goal back, but that was to be it for the Bears as time ran out, allowing Whitchurch to claim a 4-3 win.

Incredibly, for the second week running, results elsewhere went Penarth’s way and, despite the loss, the Vale side remains fourth in the standings. However, there are now four teams massing just two points behind them, meaning that victory this weekend is essential to guarantee the end-of-season placing they desire.

Whitchurch ‘F’ 1 Penarth ‘A’ 2

Similarly chasing an end-of-season position that would confirm them as ‘best of the rest’ in a division where the leading quartet have proven to be head-and-shoulders above the remainder, Penarth’s second XI faced a tricky visit to one of four Whitchurch sides in De Cymru 2.

Again, a closely-packed mid-table group meant that a Penarth victory was essential to keep the Vale side on course for their target, but the home-side had already shown to be a tricky opponent for stronger sides this season.

Penarth started fluently, with Nathan Townsend and Rob Harrison providing a fulcrum for a slick passing game that left Whitchurch chasing their tails for the opening 20 minutes.

Despite the absence of leading scorer Dave Watkins, the visitors looked threatening in front of goal and it did not take long for the deadlock to be broken.

Although Townsend looked to be drifting harmlessly across the top of the Whitchurch ‘D’, a deft reverse stick shot caught the defence napping before the ball thudded into the backboards to give Penarth a deserved lead.

With the full-strength defensive cohort of Ian Smith, Craig Llewellyn, Zbig Sobierierierskii, Paul Roberts and Nick Pratt effectively corralling rare Whitchurch breaks, it wasn’t long before the visitors doubled their advantage, this time with Sam ‘The Sniper’ Salisbury popping up at the back post to deflect home a shot from the top of the ‘D’.

At 2-0, Penarth should really have been able to exert their superiority and extend the score at will, but rolling substitutions took their toll and gradually allowed Whitchurch back into the game.

After a brief period of pressure, the visitors conceded a silly foul inside their 25 and were then caught out by a quick self-pass that allowed the home-side to fire home on the stroke of half-time.

Having their advantage halved left Penarth a little jittery at the start of the second period, and the passing game that had proven so effective in the early stages was largely abandoned in favour of ‘hit-and-hope’ hockey that was always going to be less effective against a well-marshalled veteran Whitchurch side.

Although there were chances at both ends – Penarth’s inspired by the promising Devash Patel and proven Dave Thomas and Whitchurch’s denied by goalkeeper Jason Harris – there was to be no further scoring as the sides remained locked at 2-1 through the entire 35 minutes.

The victory may have been slightly fortunate for the visitors, but allowed them to move back into sole possession of fifth place with one game remaining.

Although the two sides below them could both snatch the position on the final weekend of the season, one more win for Penarth would allow them to put the matter beyond doubt wrap up ‘top spot’ in the ‘division within a division’.

This weekend sees the first XI play round out their 2014-15 campaign with a tricky road game at Cirencester, while the seconds entertain an unpredictable Bridgend side in what could be the Vale club’s last competitive game at Colcot Leisure Centre before ‘hockey comes home’ next season.

Penarth Hockey Club always welcomes new, old and returning players, umpires, supporters, friends and helpers regardless of age and ability.

Training takes place on the artificial turf at Barry Sport Centre every Wednesday, with the juniors in action between 6pm and 7pm and seniors between 7pm and 8pm.

Further information can be obtained from club secretary Dave Stevens at d_stevens81@hotmail.co.uk.