Tomlinson keeps his cool to earn Hallam a vital 1-0 victory

Sheffield Hallam produced one of the performances of the season to defeat rivals Bowdon 1-0 in the England Hockey North Conference.

Bowdon were looking for a win to go top of the table whilst Sheffield were desperate for the points to help in their fight against relegation.

Sheffield displayed resolve and determination which stopper Rory McCallum exemplified this in abundance, stopping shot after shot.

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Meanwhile, across the pitch there were heroes, passionately going about their business, making it hard for Bowdon and creating enough half chances to convince even the sceptical home fans that maybe, just maybe, Sheffield could sneak this one.

Alex Molyneux, making his first ever league appearance for Sheffield, will be kicking himself for not scoring after Sam Tomlinson broke through the Bowdon defensive line to set him up.

Sheffield mounted a swift attack and moved the ball in to the congested Bowdon shooting circle. Under pressure, Tomlinson kept his nerve and coolly slotted the ball home. Cue wild celebrations. The win proved to be vital as the three other sides in the bottom four went on to win their games on Sunday.

The results mean that six teams sit within three points of each other fighting to avoid relegation. Meanwhile Sheffield entertained Belper in the Tier One Adult Championships, England Hockey’s name for their premier cup competition.

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The current Midland’s League leaders were easily dealt with as Sheffield won comfortably, 9-2. This week the team travel to table topping Nottingham University.

The Women’s first team missed the opportunity to put clear daylight between them and the relegation zone.

Playing against bottom placed Wakefield the Abbeydale outfit went down 3-1,Lucy Woodward scoring.

The men’s second team defeated Durham University 4-1.

Meanwhile, South Yorkshire rivals, Doncaster, could only manage a draw away at mid-table Richmond meaning Sheffield were able to grab top spot for the first time this season. Myles King scored a hat-trick of penalty corners whilst Alex Wallace marked his debut for the side with a blistering reverse stick shot in to the roof of the net.