A good effort

Letchworth ran fancied East Grinstead a lot closer than the final 4-1 scoreline might suggest in the EHA Vets Cup quarter-finals.

The home crowd got behind a determined Letchworth team but five-times winners East Grinstead had just a little more class overall.

East Grinstead took the lead after 10 minutes when forward Chris D'Cruz latched onto a loose ball. The visitors scored again shortly afterwards before evergreen Kevin Smith scored the goal of the match after converting a telling cross from Gordon Hewlett from the right wing.

East Grinstead were harshly awarded a penalty stroke shortly after half-time after what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate tackle, which was duly converted by Bram Van Asselt.

Letchworth tried to press forward with Phil Wareing denied twice, once by the opposition keeper and then a cynical foul by a defender on the edge of the D. East Grinstead scored a fourth to put the tie beyond Letchworth's reach.

There were some fine performances by the Letchworth team, particularly from the central defence pairing of Kevin Walker and David Clough.

Keeper Peter Hall gave a brilliant performance, thwarting East Grinstead's well-rehearsed penalty corner routines. Wareing in midfield also showed his ability, continually frustrating the former Great Britain captain and Olympic gold medalist Richard Leman.

Letchworth Ladies played in the veterans' county tournament on Sunday at St Albans.

They secured third place overall behind hosts St Albans and Welwyn Garden City. This was some achievement considering the small squad of 12 players with none available from the first team.

Tracey Gateson proved to be a natural goalkeeper despite never having played that position before.

The team were well led by their captain Kath Bearman and even after being reduced to 10 players for the last game they still managed to out play the opposition.