West came out firing to dominate early proceedings.

That dominance was rewarded at the fifth minute when a cross from the right corner deceived the Hornets’ defence and the ball was played into an empty net by an unmarked West striker. 

After some tactical shuffling, Port managed to regain control of the middle of the field and this allowed the team to focus their attacking strengths.

A field goal to Brad Willcocks followed by a penalty corner conversion two minutes later from Paul Baxter saw the Hornets overturn the 1-0 deficit midway through the first half.

Some good work down the left set Scott Rainbow clear on goal and he scored to see the team go into half time up 3-1. 

The half time chat was focused on defending as a team.

When the second half resumed the Hornets stepped up the speed of the game, dominating the midfield and ensuring pressure was applied to the opposition all over the field and turning defence into attack.

Willcocks scored another field goal, then Baxter worked with Jamie Wright for a three pass penalty corner routine to give the team a 5-1 lead.

West converted a penalty stroke to give them a sniff of getting back into the game, but Willcocks scored from a late penalty corner to see the match out 6-2. 

The result sees the Hornets unbeaten after six rounds and top of the Newcastle Men’s Hockey Association third grade ladder.

In other results the women’s team had a 6-1 win over the Rebels, men’s fourth grade went down 4-2 to the Tigers, and men’s sixth grade went down 3-1 to the Tigers.