Hockey
Yardley make their point

Newtown 3 Yardley 3

MRHA West Midlands Two

YARDLEY got the second half of the season underway with a hard fought draw at Newtown on Saturday.

The first meeting between the sides this season saw Yardley secure a welcome victory but with Newtown now sitting comfortably in the top half of the table, the visitors will have been pleased to return with something.

Newtown made a bright start but Yardley were determined not to let them have things all their own way and they took the lead against the run of play when a clearance found Charles Chikasha who made good ground before feeding Noor Zaman to slot home.

Newtown continued to press forward and netted an equaliser when a forward picked up the ball on halfway and ran unopposed into the D before feeding a team-mate to score.

Yardley’s cause was not helped by a couple of injuries suffered towards the end of the half but they held out until the interval.

Visiting keeper Neal Makepeace was kept busy at the start of the second half and kept Newtown at bay initially but they eventually broke through for a second time, scoring from a short corner.

An immediate Yardley response shocked Newtown as Matt Bartlett and Gavin Hetherington combined for Zaman to grab his second of the game.

Newtown struck next to lead again but Yardley were showing plenty of resolve and determination and they snatched a point at the death when Junaid Ali received the ball and evaded a number of tackles before feeding the unmarked Chikasha who fired past the keeper with the last touch of the game.

Yardley entertain Pershore on Saturday.