THE centre piece of Presidents’ Day at Ben Rhydding Hockey Club was a match between the men's first team who beat Wakefield 5-1.

Dave McCollum made it 1-0 to Rhydding, mopping up after a corner on the post.

In the second half, Wakefield broke out and scored a deflection to level.

It was young talent, Marshall Buchanan, who created the next goal for Ben Rhydding, winning the ball in the press and battling his way through the circle to set Max Helme up for an easy tap in.

Rhydding’s impressive fitness levels saw Wakefield buckle against their relentless intensity, so it was unsurprising that three of their goals were achieved in the final stages.

A superbly placed corner from Will Musgrave made it 3-1 to Rhydding. Matty Bairstow then scored a beautiful corner routine to make it 4-1.

The final goal was a deft deflection by Fraser Arnott, connecting with a strong ball in from Charlie Smith.

With some flawless defending and impressive midfield work, Rhydding looked the better side throughout.

They travel to Wilmslow this week for their final pre-season fixture before embarking on their league campaign in the North Prem’ against local rivals Harrogate at home on Saturday, September 21, at 3pm.

DEMY DOWLEY