Hockey: Oatley gives RAF a late lift

Navy 2 Royal Air Force 3

LAST-MINUTE goals sank the Navy in both their senior games yesterday in the Inter Services Championship at Aldershot, the men going down 3- 2 to the RAF and the women by the same score to the Army.

In a scrappy opening session in which both sides squandered a number of chances, the RAF always looked the more dangerous, although the best chance fell to the Navy's lone front-runner, Guy Dale-Smith. It was the RAF however who opened the scoring when Andy Beresford found himself unmarked at the far post to tap in a cross from Steve Welham.

The RAF midfield pairing of Finlay McLean and the captain David Oatley were slowly beginning to dominate the game, with Graeme Cartmell and Neil Powell looking dangerous up front. It required desperate defending from the Navy in which the goalkeeper Richard Potter was called upon to make a string of fine saves, together with some timely interceptions from James Dean to prevent the airmen from going further ahead.

With the RAF wasting two penalty corners either side of the interval, it was very much against the run of play that Dale-Smith broke through the RAF ranks and, shrugging off the attentions of three defenders, he slipped the ball under the goalkeeper Sunil Raval for the equaliser seven minutes into the second half.

Within seconds of the resumption the airmen were again in the lead when Beresford burst through to score his second. With the Navy becoming more adventurous, with Brett Morgan joining in the attack, their reward came in the 53rd minute with the awarding of a penalty corner. Mark McLintock's powerful drag shot went in off the underside of the crossbar.

Handicapped by the temporary suspension of Danny Makaruk for an uncompromising tackle on McLean, the Navy's defence were again struggling, conceding three late penalty corners. The first was wasted as their complicated corner drill failed and the second saw Chris Kimber's shot going just wide. The third appeared wasted as another complicated move appeared to break down, only for Oatley to finally bundle the ball under a prone Potter for a last-minute winner.

The RAF today play the defending champions, the Army, who on Wednesday beat the Navy 4-0, for the title.

In the women's game the Navy, with goals from Charlotte Atkinson and Vicky Burrows, led the Army against the run of play until two goals from Claire Ryding in the closing minutes gave them an unexpected victory. Earlier, Toni Robinson had scored the opening goal for the Army.

Royal Navy: R Potter; A Cunningham; M McLintock, J Dean, S Wooler; S Mitchell, P Reidy, H Ackland; C Hardy, G Dale-Smith (capt), B Morgan. Substitute used: P Friendship.

Royal Air Force: S Raval; C Kimber; A Granger, P Jacobs, B Slack; D Oatley (capt), F McLean, A Beresford; S Welham, G Cartmell, N Powell.

Umpires: N Smith and A Notman.