1st Team Vs Okehampton

North Devon HC (North) hosted Okehampton HC (Okey) in their first friendly of the new season in which the weather luckily was on our side after a week of rain. Unfortunately, North did not start as well as they hoped under new leadership with Okey getting the better of the midfield in the first 10 minutes and were rewarded with the first goal. Midfield trio of Sam Kirkness, debutant Josh Godfrey and captain Phil Brand then got organised and all the pre-season work started to pay off as North started to create several good chances and were awarded with a number of short corners for their efforts. Eventually the pressure down the right side via man of the match Joe Taylor-Richards resulted in a goal from Guy Cockcroft which came as great relief. North continued to pressure Okey and scored either side of half time.

Great organisation from the back four gave the platform for the forwards to add a further two goals courtesy of Guy Cockcroft and taking his tally to five, giving North a 5-1 lead with 20mins to go. Okey continued to fight on and North lost their structure and relaxed thinking the game was won. Two cards for Roger Casper and Josh Godfrey put the team under pressure and Okey scored two penalty flicks within 5 minutes which made the last 10 quite interesting. Final score of 5-3 was a good reflection of the game leaving the captain with plenty of positives to reflect upon but some organisation issues to work on before the league starts on the 30th September with a home fixture to a strong Firebrands A. Next week North Devon are away to ECV Hornets and North Devon A host ECV Hornets A 2.30pm at Park School in their last friendlies. New players welcome on Wednesday nights 6.45pm.