Hockey latest

The borough side were under pressure from the first whistle.

Defenders George McAllister, Mark Mager and Aaron Saunders had to work at full stretch to hold back the relentless attacks from Harlow. After 10 minutes the visitors went into the lead from a short corner.

And they added a second soon after with a shot from the edge of the D which flew into the roof of the net. Thurrock worked hard and Bradley Rust was unlucky to see his shot go inches wide after receiving a pass from Jake Lamb on the right. Sadly for Thurrock, progress was short lived.

And the borough team were forced to defend in numbers to prevent Harlow adding to their tally. After 25 minutes a well-struck short corner crept in at the post.

In the last minute of the half a shot from the edge of the area looked to be going wide but struck the post and rebounded perfectly for the inrushing attacker to make it 0-4 at half time. A change of formation in the second half allowed Thurrock to gain more possession.

They secured a number of short corners but they were unable to score goals. Midway through the half a rash tackle by a Thurrock defender led to the award of a penalty for Harlow. But keeper Danny Hick was in top form and made a reaction save. This inspired Thurrock and they played some excellent hockey to put the visitors under pressure. After 25 minutes a shot from close range appeared to be covered but a defender’s stick deflected the ball into the net for the only goal of the half.