Two goals from Dave Allmand-Smith gave Welwyn Garden City a great start to 2023.

The forward pounced twice in the first half at Hertford to hand the Hertfordshire Sports Village-based hockey club's men a 2-1 win.

It proved a valuable win as the two sides below them in the East League Division Two South West table both won as did the one directly above.

They stay seventh as a result.

The persistent rain in advance of the game meant the surface was slick and it naturally produced a fast-paced game, WGC's first since the Christmas break.

An even start to the contest ended when the hosts caught Welwyn out with a smart finish by the post.

But changes made by Welwyn shortly afterwards had an effect.

With Stuart Stephen moved to the back and Callum Burr adding energy further up the field, a swift interchange of passes sent the ball to Allmand-Smith and he made no mistake with a firm finish.

That signalled a strong end to the half by the away team who kept the momentum going.

And it was no surprise that they got their noses in front before the interval, Allmand-Smith evading the Hertford defence again with some clever movement to finish off another excellent goal.

The second half saw Welwyn under much more pressure with the home team playing better hockey.

However, they were able to repel numerous attacks and the more they did, the more Hertford became frustrated.

They even had a chance to stretch their advantage with a penalty corner but Bryn Evans was unable to apply the finish.

The one last big chance went the way of the home side from a set-piece of their own.

That though was brilliantly gloved away by the diving Dan Klinger and Welwyn claimed the three points.

Saturday will see them back at home when they entertain Shefford & Sandy, the side directly above them who beat Broxbourne this week.

It proved a stunning day across the club as all bar two sides won.

The rest of the men's section were on the winner's rostrum. The seconds and thirds also beat Hertford with scores of 3-2 and 6-2 respectively.

For the women there was an important 3-2 win for the first team away to St Albans, moving them eight points clear of the bottom two, while the seconds defeated Hertford 4-3.

That maintains their unbeaten record of 10 wins and two draws from their 12 games in Division Four South West.

Remarkably they have the exact same record as leaders Stevenage, including goals for and against.

The thirds went down 5-1 to St Albans though and the fourths had a heavy 9-0 loss at Rickmansworth.