Melton Hockey: First XI promotion hopes dented at Leicester

The Reds headed to Leicester in the thick of a three-way battle for the coveted second promotion spot in East Midlands Division One, but a Jekyll and Hyde performance and 2-1 defeat has put them on the back foot with two games of the season left.

In blustery conditions, Melton managed to play a first half of attractive, neat hockey.

Time and again they moved the ball from left to right and back again, probing for opportunities against a young Leicester side.

A broken down penalty corner provided the best early chance, but Hewitt fired wide.

Yet eventually, Melton’s pressure told.

Good movement through Jacob, Hewitt and Brookes almost opened up the defence before Smith recycled possession to keep Melton deep in opposition territory.

Squaring to Guy, the ball was then played into the area where Sibun touched the ball neatly into the path of Kendall to open the scoring.

Melton reached half-time in front and without conceding a single chance to the opposition in a dominant display.

However, they couldn’t continue in that vein after the break as possession started to be squandered and attacks grew less frequent.

Leicester started to get chances, and eventually equalised, leaving the game in the balance.

It became an end-to-end affair as Melton looked to snatch the much-needed win, while Leicester found the ball running their way in the key moments.

After a scramble in the area, a Leicester forward had a tap-in to make it 2-1.

There was still time for Melton, but camped in the Leicester half they just couldn’t find an equaliser.

Melton now trail both Derwent and Ashby by three points, but could yet make the top two with games against both rivals to come in the next two weeks.

They host third-placed Ashby at Melton Sport Village, Burton Road, on Saturday (12.30pm) and then complete their season seven days later at second-placed Derwent.