KHALSA missed out on a chance to make ground on the top three in the Midland Hockey League Premier Division after narrowly losing out 3-2 at struggling Barton.
Khalsa travelled to Burton-on-Trent on Saturday high in confidence having won their last three matches but it was the home side who took advantage of the harsh weather conditions.
An early goal left Khalsa shell-shocked and with 20 minutes of the first half remaining they conceded a second.
The visitors finally gained some momentum after falling 2-0 behind and well-worked move involving Jas Singh, Jack Wells and Jo Colantonio set up Anit Chudasama but his effort whistled wide of the goal.
Aaron Nagra clawed a goal back from a short corner after the break to get Khalsa back in the match.
But Barton’s response came immediately and they scored a third from short corner with a clever routine.
Nagra replied once again with another goal from a short corner and a further two efforts were cleared off the line ast the visitors pressed for an equaliser.
Khalsa continued to dominate but Barton’s well organised defence dealt with any issues and a defeat has severly dented any mathematical chance of Khalsa finishing top.
This Saturday Khalsa will look to make an immediate return to winning ways when they host North Stafford.
Elsewhere in Midlands Two, Warwick bounced back from last week’s disappointing defeat at Stratford and thumped North Nottinghamshire 7-2.
Warwick dominated large parts of the game and were good value for their win with Steven Cook and man of the match Martyn Stickley both bagging a brace.
And they were aided by further goals from James Barrett, Nick Baker and Phil Foster.
The win pushed Warwick up to fourth in the table ahead of this Saturday’s trip to Sikh Union in Nottingham.
