BEN Rhydding had a gruelling weekend of hockey with two North Men’s Premier League games against two of the strongest contenders.

Taking a point off Brooklands in a 1-1 draw at home was an excellent result. Rhydding played some good hockey and denied Brooklands their strongest areas.

Going into the break at 1-1, the game remained deadlocked for the second half with a final flurry from Rhydding that did not yield a score.

Matty Bairstow showed some outstanding form across both games and scored a dazzling goal to bring about the draw and a critical point on the table.

He was in hot form again on Sunday in a remarkable game at Whitley Bay which they lost 7-4.

Two strikes from corners by Will Musgrave and two goals from Bairstow represented a dynamic performance for the team but Whitley were too tough to handle going forwards.

This puts Rhydding among a cluster of teams on 15 points in the middle of the league table.