HUDDERSFIELD Dragons men’s hockey first team suffered a huge home setback as they were beaten 7-1 by North Division II East leaders Gateshead.

Huddersfield had gone into the game feeling fairly confident after recent results and performances, but this quickly changed against a very powerful team from Gateshead.

Huddersfield were on the back foot from the start with two well taken short corners giving the visitors an early lead.

This was backed up by two further goals from open play before Huddersfield found their feet in the game, but from that point on it was an exercise in damage limitation against a well-drilled Gateshead team.

A stronger second-half performance from Huddersfield provided a positive slant and gave them something to take into their game at Doncaster at the weekend.

Dragons: King, Buckley, Jones, Gregory, Matharu, Kelly, Wyer, Clark, Swinden, Courtney, Durrans, Haigh, Goldsmith, Pemberton

The Dragons fifth string were looking for county cup success in Leeds but slipped to a 2-0 defeat.

Leeds had Huddersfield on the back foot from the very start and the Dragons spent most of the game defending against a wave of attacks from their opponents.

The Dragons’ midfield battled valiantly and the forwards made the most of the small amount of possession they had, even managing to match Leeds in the number of short corners won.

But midway through the first half Leeds took the lead with a fine move, ending in a textbook pull back to the top of the D which was duly dispatched, despite Huddersfield’s keeper Paul Renfrey managing to get his stick to it.

The second half saw more of the same, with seemingly incessant Leeds pressure and the Huddersfield defence having to be at their very best to keep the deficit to a single goal.

Eventually Leeds got the decisive goal, scoring with a well-placed shot from a short corner.

The Dragons could be proud of their efforts as even when the game was lost they refused to lie down and allow the opposition to run away with it.

Another hard game awaits at the weekend in the Yorkshire League Division VI against early pacesetters Halifax thirds.

Dragons V: Renfrey, Ridings, Donovan, Wood, P Kullar, Flavin, B Kullar, Dallas, Maddocks, Dales, Clarke, Laithwaite.