PENARTH Hockey Club dominated the weekend as two of their teams recorded victories over Llanishen and Caerphilly

Penarth 8 - Llanishen and Caerphilly 0

After suffering a shock defeat to Cirencester, Penarth had the perfect opportunity to rebuild their confidence as they welcomed Llanishen and Caerphilly - the team that had provided the Vale side with their biggest win of the season in a 16-0 mauling - to the new facility at Stanwell.

The visitors looked an improved team from the one faced earlier in the season, but Penarth remained optimistic as they looked to get back to the simple hockey that had proved so fruitful in the first half of the season.

Despite immediately being on the front foot, however, the Bears struggled to find the early breakthrough as the visitors packed their ‘D’ with bodies but, with the pressure mounting and the Llanishen and Caerphilly defenders tiring, desperate tackles led to a string of penalty corners, allowing Penarth’s Laith El-Khatib to fire home two trademark drag flicks to open the scoring.

A rare foray into the Penarth half almost saw the visitors pull a goal back but, having rounded goalkeeper Mark Harris and finding an untimely bobble to leave captain Tom Haran red-faced, the Llanishen and Caerphilly forward inexplicably put the ball wide from a few yards out, sparing Haran’s blushes and leaving Penarth’s clean sheet intact.

The goalmouth scare provoked an immediate backlash from the Bears as the returning strike force of Philip Lane and David Joyce put Penarth in full control of the match. First Joyce timed his run perfectly to latch onto a cross from the right, before Lane tapped home to put the home side 4-0 up at half-time.

The second period continued in much the same vein, with Penarth dominating possession and territory and limiting the visitors to a few half chances.

Once again, the penalty corners began to pile up and the hosts took the opportunity to experiment with some new routines. Although most still needed some work on the training ground, one paid off in spectacular fashion as player-coach Ben Croxall flicked high from the right side of the 'D' to return to the scoresheet off the inside of the far post.

Joyce would go on to bag a brace of goals, albeit in contentious circumstances as an attempt to square the ball across the ‘D’ resulted in an unfortunate deflection off a Llanishen and Caerphilly stick that guided the ball into the own net.

Desperate to hang onto El-Khatib’s coat tails in the goalscoring charts, Joyce was more than happy to claim the goal. Chris Baker chipped in with a goal from midfield before El-Khatib rounded off his hat-trick with the last touch of the game, diving low to his left to sweep home a one-handed reverse stick shot.

Penarth have wasted no time at all in turning their new home pitch into a fortress by winning an impressive nine from nine since it opened in September and, with their latest clean sheet meaning that they have conceded less than a goal a game while scoring an incredible 67, the march towards promotion continues apace.

Goalscorers: Laith El-Khatib (3), David Joyce (2), Philip Lane, Chris Baker, Ben Croxall

Llanishen and Caerphilly 'B' 0 - Penarth 'A' 12

The 2nd XI travelled to face their own Llanishen and Caerphilly opposition for the second time in two days on Sunday and, having seen the first encounter abandoned to the elements and a flooded pitch before the opening whistle, were grateful that the weather eased enough to complete a game that had already been rescheduled after the original fixture was cancelled due to a frozen pitch.

Despite facing lowly opponents, Penarth started in their usual lackadaisical fashion, giving the ball away and not gaining control, but somehow took the lead with David Joyce opening the scoring from close range. This settled the team down and, exerting greater influence over proceedings, the Bears went on to score six more before half-time, creating a comfortable seven-goal cushion at the break.

The scoreline ensured one of the easiest half-time team talks of the season but, with the Penarth goalkeeper having only been called into action once in the first half and the defence doing more attacking than defending, it remained important how the Vale side played the second half.

Although the build-up was a little more direct than in the opening period, the second half was pretty much more of the same, with every player seeing plenty of possession and accurate passing setting up further scoring opportunities. Llanishen and Caerphilly's goalkeeper thus had plenty to do, and pulled off a number of fine saves, but was helpless as his team mates all too often gifted Penarth the ball in their own 'D'.

With the Penarth forwards finding the back of the net far too easily - and looking dangerous every time they came forward despite wasting chances - it remained one-way traffic to the final whistle. The youngsters in Llanishen and Caerphilly's midfield worked tirelessly for their team, and much credit must be given for their efforts, but it wasn't to be their day as Penarth ran out 12-0 victors.

It was one of those games where it was difficult to pick a man-of-the-match, with Dave Watkins and Sam Chick both scoring a hat-trick and Joyce adding a further four goals to his opening strike, with Jamie Davison picking up the remainder. However, it was decided that Chick should take the accolade for an all-round display that unselfishly created a number of chances for his team mates.

Goalscorers: David Joyce (5), Dave Watkins (3), Sam Chick (3), Jamie Davison

While the 3rds again sit out league action this weekend, both the 1st and 2nd XIs face tricky mid-table opposition, with the senior side travelling to Aberystwyth University and the 2nds taking on a Whitchurch side that proved stubborn in rain-soaked conditions before the Christmas break.

Penarth Hockey Club always welcomes new, old and returning players, umpires, supporters, friends and helpers regardless of age and ability. Training takes place on Wednesdays at Stanwell School, with the juniors on the pitch between 6.15pm and 7.15pm and the seniors between 7.15pm and 8.15pm.

Anyone interested in joining the club at senior or youth level can contact either player-coach Ben Croxall (b_croxall20@yahoo.co.uk) or club secretary Dave Stevens (d_stevens81@hotmail.co.uk) for further information.