Old Loughtonians men were seeking a win to bounce back after their previous week’s disappointing result and did so in style as they defeated newly-promoted Saffron Walden 7-1.

Despite some mind games from the opposition making Loughts change socks at the last minute, the eventual victors set the pace from the off.

An early goal was knocked in by Shane Martin, who is leading the club’s scoring charts, before Mitchell Jones added two more from short corners, trickling the ball through a seemingly large hole in the keeper’s glove.

A reverse stick from Martyn Lear ensured that Loughts went into half-time with a commanding lead.

Second-half goals from George Lilley, Lear and Jones sealed the victory with assists coming from Fred Whitefield and Ron Bloss.

The ladies had a somewhat frustrating draw against Maidstone as the score ended 1-1 at full-time.

Loughts started off strongly, dominating the game and went on to score first through Maddy Smith-Gander.

And the home side should have made it two before the end of the first half with Alice Melvin’s shot from a short corner going wide.

But in the second period Maidstone increased the pressure and their opponents conceded a short corner. This was well executed and the visitors managed to even up the game.

There was good news for Wapping ladies who kept their promotion hopes on track in their six-goal win over Holcombe as they retained second position in the East Premier League.

Wapping began the game by putting immediate pressure on the Kent side and within the first five minutes they took the lead through Jordan Mulvaney.

With the ladies continuously applying the pressure on the home team, this saw Jessica Taylor-Tibbot score from a strike at the top of the circle to double their lead.

It was not long before they added a third with Belinda Armstrong placing the ball past the keeper just before half-time.

Wapping continued their momentum into the second half, seeing Lucy Todd and Armstrong maintain play through the centre.

A straight strike routine from a short corner saw Jade White deflect the ball into the goal to make it four for the visitors.

Shortly afterwards, Wapping scored again from a ball being stuck across the circle to Todd, who placed it into the net.

However, Wapping then began to look complacent and Holecombe took full advantage and attacked the visitors’ defence.

This resulted in a penalty corner and a well-drilled routine and a straight strike from the top of the circle made the score 5-1 as goalkeeper Meg Pugh narrowly missed making contact with the ball with her pads.

But Wapping quickly regrouped and soon after created a series of linked passes resulting in Taylor-Tibbot scoring again with another assist from Armstrong.

During the last minutes of play Wapping fought in Holcombe’s final third and were awarded two consecutive penalty corners but were unable to claim another goal.

There was not such a positive outcome for the men as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton and Hove, with Will Cairns scoring Wapping’s only goal of the game in the National League encounter.

Dom Oliver and Ollie Davies’ goals for the Seconds were also not enough as they lost 3-2 to Shefford & Sandy.

The Thirds managed a comfortable 5-1 victory over Waltham Forest’s Seconds with Ross Townsley scoring three and Kamal Pun two.

And the Fourths also won 4-2 against West Herts Thirds with Will Epsom netting twice while there was one apiece from Ant Emms and Scott Alder.

There were losses for the ladies’ Seconds and Thirds as the former were beaten 2-1 by Broxbourne and the latter 1-0 by Thurrock, both at home.

However, the Fourths fared better as they emerged as 4-2 winners over Southend with Ruadhan Jenkins, Emma Beresford, Becky Fox and Ambika Nedungadi scoring.

Forest’s men’s Firsts enjoyed a high-scoring 7-5 victory over Wisbech Town in the East Premier Division B.

But the Thirds went down 4-0 to Brentford while the Fourths won 6-4 over Old Southendians.

Crostyx men’s Firsts’ clash with Ford was postponed due to the weather, while the ladies’ Firsts fell to a 3-0 defeat at home to Canterbury Seconds in East Division One South.