BRACKNELL hockey club's men's 1st conceded a last-gasp winner against Maidenhead to go down 3-2 in the opening game of the season on Saturday.

Maidenhead, who were relegated from the league above last year, took an early lead but were pegged back early in the second half thanks to Paul Kaplanski's finish.

The visitors regained the lead from another short corner but Bracknell continued to press for a second equaliser and were duly rewarded five minutes from time when Gary Steeples stole in from a well-practiced short corner routine. The match looked to be heading for a draw until the Maidenhead central midfielder pounced on a loose ball and fired a cross into the D where the Maidenhead forward deftly deflected the ball past the Bracknell keeper Dave Harris, to win the game with the very last touch.

MEANWHILE the ladies' 1st team won their first match of the season 5-2 against Wycombe 2nds in Trysports Premier Division while the 2nds triumphed 2-0 against Scarlet Runners.

The 3rds made it a clean sweep of victories over the weekend with a comfortable 4-0 win over Wokingham 4ths.

Bracknell Mens 2's 1- West London 7 ADRIAN Plant's goal was the only consolation for Bracknell as they slumped to a disaapointing 7-1 defeat to West London.

It was their first game in MBBO division 4 following promotion last season and they were given a rude awakening to the rigours of playing in the division.

The first half saw West London apply constant pressure to the Bracknell goal, which yielded them four short corners, three of which were converted into goals.

Bracknell's only response was to attack on the break where possible, making the most of their opponent's high line, but they produced little up front.

The second half continued in the same vein. While Bracknell were looking for a quick goal to try to get back in the game, it was West London who scored early to make it 4-0 and game over.

Plant managed to finish off a sweeping move down the right but by that time West London had added another three goals to make the final score 7-1.

Mens 3's 1-5 South Bucks 3's BRACKNELL took the lead in their opening game of the season before succumbing 5-1 against South Bucks.

The home side were soon leading after a well placed second shot by Pete Bailey from a short corner.

Sadly opportunities on goal from then on were at a premium and the emphasis soon turned to defence.

Many good saves from Marcus Brown kept South Bucks at bay and, combined with excellent defending from man-of-the-match Alistair Stacey, Bracknell kept the scoreline down.

However, South Bucks continued to dominate and they quickly established a 5-1 lead.

Bracknell will now look forward to a trip to Wallingford next week.

Bracknell Terriers 2-2 Banbury Piranahs THE Terriers opened their league season with a tough 2-2 draw at newly promoted Banbury Piranhas.

The Piranhas dominated the first half exchanges but always looked dangerous on the break and that was how they took the lead when Duncan Wiggett latched onto a defence-splitting pass and unselfishly fed David Mackinder, who finished with a strong low flying flick.

The Piranhas restored parity by converting one of their numerous short corners to go in 1-1 at the break.

The second half was a different story with Bracknell dominating possession instead.

Their lead was restored with a superbly rifled short corner from Steve Williams.

But Bracknell failed to close out the game, spurning a number of opportunities, which allowed Banbury to equalise against the run of play.

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