A SOLITARY strike from Ravi Patel saw Wokingham Men upset the form book and defeat promotion-chasing Sonning at Cantley Park.
Victory in this borough derby, only the hosts second of the season, pulled the team off the foot off the MBBO Regional Division 2 table, while defeat leaves Sonning three points adrift of league leaders Banbury 2s.
Patel struck what proved to be the winner when running on to a through ball and finding the net with a strike from the penalty spot.
Up against determined opposition the visitors, who had tasted defeat just once this campaign prior to the push-back, were uncharateristically off their game, with passes going astray and chances to equalise being wasted.
Wokingham too had chances to pull further ahead, but just the one goal was enough to secure a precious victory.
Up next for Sonning is a top-of-the-table clash with second place Aylesbury, while Wokingham travel to Oxford Hawks 3s for a basement battle, where only goal difference separates the two sides.
Duncan Clarke and Matt Taylor were on target for a Wokingham 2s side which played out a 2-2 draw with struggling Oxford 5s in MBBO Division 3.
The point helped the hosts nudge further away from trouble, with the side now sitting ninth in the standings with as many points.
Clarke continues to lead the way for the team this term, with his goal the seventh of the campaign.
In what was an unbeaten weekend for the men, a 2-0 success over Windsor 2s saw Wokingham 3s swap places with the opposition in the MBBO Division 7 standings.
After 10 games, Wokingham sit eighth on nine points.
The game between Windsor and Wokingham Vets in the Wessex Supervets Fixture Alliance was postponed.
Wokingham Ladies
DEFEATING Henley Ladies 3s not only saw Wokingham 2s claim a first win of the season, but it also pulled them off the bottom of the Trysports Division 2 table.
The 1-0 success at Cantley Park was the first in 11 games for the club, and saw them climb three places to ninth as a result.
But there was disappointment for Wokingham Ladies.
Away at Amersham and Chalfont, the side went down to a 3-0 loss against a side who sit just three points off top spot in third.
Wokingham were beaten by Cathy Hollies, Melissa Humphris and Bryony Barber goals.
Down in Division 5, Wokingham 3s remain without a win in eight games and rooted to the foot of the league ladder after suffering a heavy 6-0 loss when hosting Wychwood 2s.
Chelsie Wood, Keely Harding, Scarlett Forest and Eve Henshaw were among those netting for the visitors.
Sonning Hockey Club
ANNA MASON hit the winner as Sonning Ladies were beaten 1-0 during their
top-of-the-table clash with Reading 2s.
Just goal difference separated the sides at the start of the day, but a first defeat of the season leaves Sonning three points adrift of their title rivals.
The club’s second XI, meanwhile, returned to the victory trail when outscoring bottom side Aylesbury Ladies by two goals to one.
Hosting Milton Keynes 2s, Sonning 3s suffered an 11th straight defeat in Division 1, with the 4-1 reverse leaving the club marooned to the foot of the table, where they sit six points behind the team directly above them, Wycombe 3s.
The 4s had a day to forget away at Maidenhead 4s in Division 3, where the strugglers crashed to a heavy 12-0 defeat to leave them bottom of the standings.
Sonning Veterans went down to a 5-0 loss when hosting Oxford Fireflies at Berkshire County Sports in Division 5.
Sonning Men
GOALS from Matt Poulton and Huw Thomas proved to be in vain for a Sonning 2s side which was beaten 4-2 by Amersham and Chalfont.
Geoff Brown, James Easter, Thomas McKinley and Chris Yoxall all struck for the MBBO Division 1 leaders in a 4-2 victory.
Sonning 3s remain ninth in MBBO Division 2 following defeat by the same scoreline away at Maidenhead 2s, for whom Nick Ivory, Chris Miall and Jamie O’Connell, twice, notched in a surprise win for the struggling side.
In Division 4, however, Sonning 4s secured a first win of the season at the 10th attempt, Matt Price and Joe Greene hitting the backboard in a 2-0 success over Phoenix and Ranelagh 2s.
Victory in this basement battle moved the side to within a point of their rivals.
Sonning 5s remain just a point off leaders Oxford 7s in Division 8 West after running out 4-2 winners against mid-table Reading Rascals, while in Division 9 West, the 6s also sit second, a position they consolidated with the 4-0 thrashing of Banbury 4s.
In the same division, the ninth-versus-10th clash between Sonning 7s and Oxford 9s finished in a 2-2 draw.
