Lytham St Annes Hockey Club round-up: A losing end to the league season

The men’s first team were beaten 4-2 at a Preston side they had defeated 5-3 earlier in the season.

Both sides created chances early on before Preston opened the scoring.

Dave Robbins soon equalised for Lytham, who had a goal disallowed before Preston scored again and then extended their lead.

Oakley Williams netted a second goal for Lytham, who host Southport in their cup semi-final next up.

There was also defeat for the men’s seconds, who were beaten 6-0 by South Lakes.

They defended well for the first 30 minutes, only for South Lakes to score three times before the break.

Although the Lytham youngsters battled hard throughout, their opponents scored another three goals to secure victory.

The ladies’ first team ended the season with a 7-1 loss to Carlisle 1.

Lytham started strongly, taking the lead when Lucy Bridges slotted home from Grace Reddy’s pass.

Carlisle levelled before half-time, after which their positioning paid off with six goals as Lytham tried out new positions in an attempt to create more chances.

There was also defeat for the ladies’ seconds, 3-0 against Pendle Forest 2.

Lytham had some good opportunities in the first half but their opponents were too quick for the defence, scoring three times.

The second half saw Lytham move around some players and change their formation.

That paid off as Pendle Forest were unable to score again, while Lytham had several short corner attempts and also saw Frankie Beeby come close to finding the net.