Hampstead & Westminster return from winter break with defeat to basement boys

Hampstead & Westminster’s men returned from the winter break with a 3-1 home defeat against basement boys Canterbury, leaving them one point outside the bottom two in the Premier Division.

Canterbury had failed to win any of their previous 11 league games, drawing one match and losing the other 10.

However, they had finished runners up in the Super Sixes indoor competition the week before and their confidence and sharpness was evident at Paddington Recreation Ground as Wei Adams struck twice in the opening 20 minutes.

Matt Botha halved the deficit after the break but, as Hampstead pushed forward in search of an equaliser they left gaps at the back, and James Spain capitalised.

Meanwhile, Hampstead & Westminster’s ladies also lost 3-1 in their Conference East clash away against Cambridge City and dropped to fourth place in the table.

The visitors found themselves 3-0 down before Alexandra Irwin struck a late consolation goal.