Newbury & Thatcham Vets 1 Petersfield Veterans 5: PETERSFIELD’S youth and quality eventually held sway, but the veterans were tested for long periods of the game by a Newbury and Thatcham side playing good hockey.

Petersfield dominated the early stages, but wayward and scuffed shots from the usually reliable Pruden, White and Hulme failed to give the away side the lead.

Budden’s cheeky deflection of Pruden’s pass put Petersfield ahead, swiftly followed by Dryden-Brownlee shovelling in the second.

Newbury then halved the lead through a smartly worked penalty corner.

Just before half time, Martin cantered forward from right back and finished Davies’ precise pass to score his first goal for the club and give Petersfield a 3-1 lead.

Petersfield’s energy took its toll on Newbury for much of the second half, with the away side dominating much of the play. Eventually, the width provided by the introduction of Cornett on the right led to a goal, with Cornet’s draw-back from the by-line neatly flicked past the Newbury keeper by Pruden.

Pruden added his second, finishing Thompson’s pass from a recovered penalty corner between the Newbury keeper’s legs.

In the last ten minutes Newbury responded and Broadmeadow made a couple of good saves in the Petersfield goal. The pressure was raised when Thompson received a yellow card for a sliding tackle, but Petersfield’s defence held firm with the 5-1 score reflecting the balance of the game.