Louth Hockey Club: Invincibles end campaign on winning note

The East Region Hockey 5NW champions defeated Leadenham 4-1, while the ladies’ first team lost 5-3 to the University of Leeds, and the ladies’ Second XI lost 2-1 to Horncastle.

Louth’s men’s first team started the game knowing they were already league champions regardless of the result.

However, they had to avoid defeat away to Leadenham to maintain their unbeaten status for the entirety of the season.

After a shaky start for the visitors, Louth were able to take the lead through Will Trotter, but were unable to nullify the threat from Leadenham.

The hosts went on to level the scores through a mixture of poor defending and persistent pressure.

But against the run of play, Louth captain Alec Newlove put his side in front soon after conceding.

However, Leadenham kept coming and on the stroke of half-time were awarded a penalty flick.

But Louth keeper Olly Trotter pulled off a great save to keep Leadenham’s lead going into half-time.

Heading into the second half, the visitors came out much stronger.

They began to knock the ball around with much more confidence, while making it increasingly difficult for the Leadenham players to gain possession of the ball.

This pressure led to Louth extending their lead to 3-1 through Oliver Wright before Alec Newlove added a fourth to kill off the game.

The final score could have been a whole lot more had it not been for some excellent shot stopping from the Leadenham keeper.