Hockey: Brogdon double helps champions hit stride

There was a familiar look about the results at the top of the men's National League at the end of the opening day.

The champions Cannock were quickly into their stride notching up a 7-2 win against Guildford. It took Andy Brogdon just eight minutes to put the Staffordshire side into the lead with the first of his two goals. Simon Ramsden and Andrew Langlands both scored braces with Martin Jones completing the scoring. Ian Jennings and Jason Collins responded for Guildford who had Mark Hoskin shown the red card in the final minute.

Last year's runner-up, Reading, shrugged off the loss of almost half of last season's first choice team and took the lead with Rick Mantell scoring the first of his two penalty corner conversions in the ninth minute. Although David De Prez showing persistence with a 40-yard run through the Reading defence and, with an element of luck, equalised for newly promoted Chelmsford, the Berkshire side ran out 3-1 winners with Jonty Clarke claiming their third.

David Appleton was the day's top scorer with five goals in the opening 22 minutes as Loughborough Students thrashed St Albans 9-0. There were goals galore in Division Two where Bowdon's Oliver Cooper scored a hat-trick in their 5-5 draw with Bournville for whom Simon McCollum also scored three times.

In Saturday's opening games in the women's League, South African Olympian Jenny Wilson scored the first hat-trick of the season as Canterbury beat Clifton 4-0. There were also 4-0 wins for Olton & West Warwick at home to Sutton Coldfield, and Ipswich away at Harleston Magpies. The defending champions, Hightown, continued where they left off last season with a 4-2 win away to Fyffes Leicester. Their player coach, Tina Cullen, scored twice to take her League tally to a record 203.