Marlow's men move further clear at the top after victory over Bournemouth

Josh Covus.

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Marlow Men's first team moved further clear at the top of their league after a confident 2-0 win over Bournemouth at Pound Lane this Saturday.

The Reds never looked back after Josh Covus swept home a perfectly placed opening goal, and their spirits were lifted further after the final whistle on the discovery that second placed Trojans had lost away at Staines.

The home side had a measure of control after Covus's goal but the game turned into a bit of a scrappy affair.

Bournemouth went close from a penalty stroke just before half-time that a diving Henry Saxby kept out with a sprawling save.

The Reds capitalised on that towards the end of the game when Sam North swept the ball into the roof of the net from another penalty corner.

It was a hard earned three points and their 10th clean sheet of what's become a very encouraging season.

After recent disappointments in the league, Marlow Men's 2nd team took the in the first two minutes of their match at Milton Keynes' 1sts.

The Reds finished off a well-orchestrated move down the left with Ollie Harvey and Ollie Green combining to set up Will Strange in the D for an easy tap in.

The goal set the tone for a lively affair, which Marlow largely dominated, however, Milton Keynes kept themselves in contention and levelled in the 26th minute with a goal out of nothing really.

The second half was cagier, as both teams tried to figure out how to break down the other.

Both had chances to grab a late winner, but neither was able to find the back of the net again and the game finished in a respectable 1-1 draw.

Other men's results saw the 3rds draw 2-2 away with Phoenix Reading 1sts, the 4ths defeat Sonning 3rds 4-1, the 5ths beat Maidenhead 2nds 2-1 and the 6ths win 2-0 at Windsor 3rds.

Marlow Women's 1st team went down to a narrow 1-0 defeat against physical opponents in Lansdown 1sts from Cheltenham.

Their hosts played an aggressive, in your faces brand of hockey from the first whistle and turned the ball over on numerous occasions.

Marlow had brief glimpses of the Lansdown goal, following great runs from Martha Goodridge while solid defending from the Reds kept the hosts at bay until the second quarter.

Lansdown took the lead through their prolific top scorer this season, who shot from the top of the circle, the ball bouncing and bobbling past Alys Ramm who was not expecting the shot.

The Reds improved in the second half and enjoyed more possession.

Rachel Clarke started linking well with Goodridge and Beth Halbard to create attacking chances, but the visitors weren't able to convert their penalty corner opportunities.

The Women's 2nd team remained top of their division this weekend after a 2-0 away win at Milton Keynes.

Marlow grew into the game after an unusually slow start where Milton Keynes had a goal disallowed and both keepers were forced into saves.

The Reds stepped up their efforts after the break and were rewarded for going up the gears when Olivia Xiao lifted the ball into the back of the net from a corner, while Jazzy Elsden doubled their lead with a shot into the left-hand corner of the net from the final move of the match.

Other results saw the 3rd team lose 1-0 to Slough 2nds, the 4ths lose 3-0 away to Wallingford 3rds, the 5ths lose 4-0 away to Sonning 3rds, the 6ths lose 2-0 to Windsor 3rds and the 7ths lose 5-2 to Sonning 5ths away.