Wimbledon men followed up last week’s win at Southgate with a 4-2 victory at Cannock to give their Premier Division season the kickstart it needed.
After losing their first two matches, back-to-back wins have Wimbledon looking up the table again.
It took 35 minutes for the visitors to get their noses in front, with Phillip Ball scoring the first goal – having the composure to take the ball around a defender and hit a firm reverse stick shot past goalkeeper James Fair – to give Wimbledon the half-time lead.
Cannock regrouped in the second half and hit back quickly with Peter Jackson equalising from a short corner.
Wimbledon re-took the lead in the 42nd minute with a goal from Phil Roper as he hared into the D and unleashed a vicious reverse stick shot beyond Fair.
The visitors then turned the screw and extended their lead through two penalty-corner goals by Michael Hoare and Ball.
Jackson scored again for Cannock in the 69th minute from a penalty corner of their own, but it was all a little too late and Wimbledon saw out the rest of the game with ease.
Coach Ben Marsden said: “Cannock are always a well organised and competitive side, so to come here and get a result is first class.
“We still need to work on parts of our game but it was good to see our new players settling in.”
Captain Ben Hawes added: “To win a game against a very good side is always a positive achievement.
“There were times when we played outstanding hockey and were rewarded with the four goals.”
They have the opportunity to build on their momentum with two home games coming up against Reading and Brooklands.
Wimbledon Ladies suffered another defeat in a hard-fought contest as they went down 4-2 at Maidenhead – their third loss in a row in the Investec Conference East.
Wimbledon overcame the early set back of a Maidenhead opener in the second minute, with an equaliser three minutes later by Lauren Seaman.
But the home team then had the better of the play and went in 3-1 up at half time.
Wimbledon narrowed the gap to just one goal in the 53rdminute through Meg Dowthwaite, only for the home team to restore their two goal advantage six minutes later.
Wimbledon manager Ann Baker said her team enjoyed the majority of possession but were caught out on the break for three of the Maidenhead goals.
The team find themselves third from bottom of the Women’s Conference East at this very early stage of the season.
