It was a strong weekend for Holcombe under the circumstances.

Last weekend saw a couple of frustrating results and it was important that both sides bounced back ahead of welcoming the respective Champions to Holcombe Park this coming weekend.

The Women will probably be the first to tell you that they didn’t play particularly well on Saturday. They’re capable of playing far better hockey, at a greater intensity and being far more clinical.

To be able to play like that and win 1-0 with a clean sheet however is what’s most promising. It was mentioned a few times last year and it’s thrown out there on an almost fortnightly basis in Football’s Premier League; winning ugly is vitally important when it comes to winning a Championship.

Thankfully, that’s just what the girls were able to do on Saturday and with Surbiton to come this Saturday, they have a great opportunity to create some early daylight in the table.

For the Men, we were very aware of the subtle pressures of Saturday night.

Following the farcical scenes of the rearranged game last Sunday, we went into Saturday desperate for those three points. Playing last years’ Championship finalists over the next two weeks made coming away from Sonning Lane with the win simply essential.

On the whole, we put together a really strong performance across the 70 minutes and was said at the end, we had guys step up in clutch moments of the game.

All very well and good you might think but now we face the reigning Champions who currently stand with a 100% record having beaten last years’ finalists away from home on Saturday.

Both Holcombe sides go into this weekend as underdogs. You can’t win a Championship one year and not have a target on you the next.

I know for sure that the Terrace will be relishing the opportunity come Saturday night and it’s up to us to bring it to the table.