LUCKLESS City of York Hockey Club men's first team suffered a weekend of double agony.

They lost 3-1 at Oxton on Saturday and then 2-1 at Durham University the following day.

It has been a frustrating start to the campaign for player-coach Gawaine Hogg, who has so far been unable to put on his playing boots in the Northern Hockey League.

He has seen his side suffer from a string of disallowed goals and 50-50 decisions which have gone against them.

Against Oxton, York were 2-0 down within minutes but York hit back to score through Lee Cuffe.

On three occasions York created one-on-one opportunities but each time the Oxton goalkeeper kept them out.

When Christian Gregg's snap shot looped over the bar, York knew it was going to be a long battle and conceded a third goal just before the interval.

Ashley Watson played well in goal for York, making some good saves to keep the score down.

It was a similar tale of woe against Durham University as York dominated the first half with Ben Foster coming close several times.

The students' goalkeeper made a string of athletic stops at short corners to ensure the match stayed goal-less at half-time.

After the break, Durham went ahead but James Gilbert equalised from a short corner.

Just as York appeared to have earned a draw, Durham forced a short corner with 20 seconds remaining and netted a heart-breaking winner.

Matt Fletcher and Alex Cockram scored the goals which earned City of York II a 2-1 win in NHL division two east.

The opener came after 20 minutes when a dead-ball hit by Graham Cook was netted by Fletcher. Five minutes later, tireless midfielder John McRory fed Cockram, who slipped the ball under the Wakefield goalkeeper.

York were largely in control with Cockram's excellent stick skills putting Wakefield continually on the back foot.

With just 12 minutes to go, Wakefield pulled a goal back but City held out comfortably.

Peter Rowley scored a hat-trick as City of York VIII beat the club's ninth team 3-2 in an inter-club match. Mark Lambert and Neil Hollier netted for the IX team.

None of the other York men's sides were in action.

Northern comfort - at last

City of York Ladies' recorded their first North League win of the season with a 2-0 success at home to Blackburn.

After a goalless first-half, York created space in the Blackburn defence after the interval and were rewarded when Sally Sleightholme converted Pam Rowbottom's short left-wing cross.

After consultation, the umpires then disallowed what seemed a fine individual goal by Mandy Nesbit. But York hit back as Karen Howells soon scored from the top of the circle.

Late Blackburn pressure was repelled by York's defence, with two good saves from 'keeper Dawn Hopkins ensuring the winning points.

In division one of the Yorkshire League, City of York Ladies II continued a poor run, suffering a 7-2 defeat at LA Metros II. Helen Shilleto and Sue Draper scored York's consolation goals.

City of York Ladies III, who are also struggling in division four, lost 9-0 at home to Skipton and Airedale II, while Ben Rhydding IV defeated City of York Ladies IV 1-0, ending York's 11-month unbeaten run.

Ben Rhydding's goal came mid-way through the second-half and, although York had a host of scoring opportunities, they were denied by a combination of alert goal-keeping and inaccurate shooting.

Stamford Bridge drew 1-1 with Stillington in the York and District Ladies League.

Claire Wright gave Bridge the lead when she converted a cross from the right, but Stillington equalised with ten minutes left. Jane Foster was Bridge's player of the match.

Updated: 08:58 Tuesday, November 01, 2005