ASHMOOR Hockey Club men’s 1st XI produced their best display of the season to date with a great team performance against Fareham.

With outstanding support at their Totnes base, Ashmoor started in positive fashion and were ahead within the opening three minutes.

Theo Bennett showed good composure in the opposition shooting circle before laying the ball back to Jack Dinnie. The player-coach sent the ball goalwards and the ever-alert Lewie Jones deflected it home for a 1-0 lead.

Ashmoor continued to have the better of the exchanges but a penalty corner came to nothing, and then a flowing move up the left from a quickly taken hit out led to Dinnie finding Jones who had a decent reverse stick effort sail just wide.

After quarter time, Fareham came out more aggressively and Ashmoor had goalkeeper Ben Blundy to thank for a sharp 1-on-1 save to deny the away side a leveller.

As half time approached, Rich Ashworth found Dinnie going forwards and his cross was almost pounced upon by striker Rich Fisher.

After the halftime break, Ashmoor got back into their stride immediately. When Lewie Jones stole the ball off the Fareham defender Fisher made a great supporting run and Jones put the ball into his path and Fisher finished sharply.

Minutes later, Dec Turner, on his home debut, linked up well with Dinnie to almost fashion another opening. However, a lapse in concentration at the defending end led to Blundy having to save, and the ball was adjudged to have hit an Ashmoor foot during the melee.

Fareham then pulled a goal back from the resulting penalty corner to make it 2-1 to Ashmoor.

At the other end, a second penalty corner for Ashmoor ended with a Hartley Colbourne shot but no further goals. Fareham tails were in the air and they won a second penalty corner, but this time their efforts were thwarted by Dinnie who ran it down to deflect the shot off target.

Finally, a beautiful team move then settled the Ashmoor nerves. George Galbraith found the advancing Dinnie, who seemed to be everywhere, and he picked out Fisher in the shooting circle. The striker chose to lay the ball back and Cathan Wherry met it first time to beat the keeper to his stick side, 3-1 to Ashmoor to the delight of the crowd!

Ashmoor came out resolutely in the final quarter to deny Fareham possession and take the game to them as they flagged.

Colbourne played a loose ball first time into the D, it deflected up, and Wherry almost scored a second with a volley which hit the top of the post.

Soon after, Ashmoor made it four with the best quality move of the match. Captain Jamie Bishop who had a composed game at the heart of Ashmoor's midfield played Dinnie in moving forwards.

He threaded a lovely pass through to Dec Turner who showed great composure to play the ball into the path of Bennett who first timed it past the Fareham keeper.

Ashmoor didn’t let up, Dinnie converting the fifth from a rebound before Ben Barnett rounded out the scoring.

This weekend, Ashmoor travel to face the University of Bristol on Sunday.

Image courtesy of Mark Lockett Photography.