Lindum 4 Ben Rhydding 3

THIS was a top of the table clash that did not disappoint the crowd at Lindum.

It was probably the best game of hockey the North Men's League Division One is likely to see this season.

Leaders Lindum took the spoils and Rhydding had to make the long journey home with empty tanks and no points.

It was a tight contest from start to finish and this shows the progress that Rhydding have made since their last meeting where they were turned over 7-1.

Matty Birch was the outstanding defender of the game and mopped up the pressure faultlessly for 70 minutes.

Skipper, Robert Ramsden was strong and formidable in midfield showing superb ball retention under pressure and disrupted any Lindum flow from back to front.

The game was gridlocked for 25 minutes but a foolish error led to the first corner of the match which Lindum’s drag flicker gobbled up gratefully to give them the lead.

They made it 2-0 just a minute later capitalising on more errors from Ben Rhydding while they were on the back foot.

Musgrave scored a corner to get Rhydding back in the game.

Lindum restored their two-goal lead when Rhydding gave their star player a moment’s gap and he seized the chance to score. Musgrave again, converted a corner to pull it back to 3-2.

Lindum stretched away again, and were more clinical in taking the small number of chances they had, scoring from a free-hit outside the circle.

Tireless work from Max Helme and George Gamble kept Lindum under attack and Musgrave bagged his hat-trick with another corner routine.

Rhydding could not quite scrape the draw and even took their keeper off in the dying minutes in a vain attempt to get an equaliser.

The top of the league remains tight and Rhydding will continue to feature in the promotion fight but the title will now be out of reach.