STOURPORT suffered a setback in their opening Midland Men’s Premier contest when crashing to a 3-0 defeat against Rugby.

Having warmed up for the season with an impressive 4-3 friendly success over Gloucester, Stourport found themselves on the backfoot against Rugby and had to thank goalkeeper David Lewis for keeping them on level terms at half-time as Rugby forced a series of penalty corners.

Rugby increased the tempo after the break to force three well taken goals from open play.

This Saturday, Stourport travel to Edgbaston, while the remaining men’s teams take on Worcester.

Stourport players were prominent at last month’s International Masters World Cup which took place in Canterbury and Oxford.

David Stokes secured a gold medal for England Over-40s, while David Knott did likewise in the Over-50s.

Neil Stone picked up a bronze medal in the Over-60s, while David Read also struck gold for the Over-65s.

Behind the scenes, Stourport have been improving their facilities and should have a brand new third pitch at their disposal by January.

The club are currently on the lookout for new players.

Anyone interested should contact Chairman of Selectors Bruce Baron on 07717-454577.

Meanwhile, the club also unveiled their resurfaced £160,000 Kingsway pitch when on Saturday as the ladies played their first National League match.

Club chairperson Holly Lashford said it was pure chance the two came together at the same time thanks to a series of fun raising events coupled with some generous donations.

Money was raised through a variety of events ranging from race nights, raffles and auctions.

The National Hockey Foundation donated £50,000, while another £16,000 arrived from the Vice Presidents’ Fund.

Welcome to our future through the Servern Waste Environment Fund donated a further £8,000 while local company Tiger Turf provided another £2,000.

Stourport Sports Club provided the remainder of the funds.

Lashford said: “These are exciting times at Stourport Hockey Club .

“We already have a thriving junior section and work is already under way to open a third pitch, which should be ready by early December.

“The ladies have done fantastically well, obtaining five promotions in seven seasons rising from Worcestershire Division One right through to the National League.

“The lovely thing is that many of the players are local girls who have grown up with the club right from their Worcestershire League days.

“The real challenge will be staying the National League now that we’ve got there.”

To endorse their rise through the ranks, Stourport are starting a ‘Get back into Hockey’ programme for women.

This eight week course is open to players of all abilities — even those who have never played hockey at all.

The course starts Wednesday, September 26 at the club from 7.15pm to 8.30pm.