WILMSLOW Hockey Club men’s team have lost their 100 per cent record.

Unbeaten since the start of the season, they headed to Durham University in confident mood on Saturday but were defeated 2-1.

Wilmslow started slowly in a tetchy opening from both teams.

Durham set their gameplan out early and were content to sit deep and absorb pressure before trying to hit Wilmslow on the counter.

Wilmslow struggled to break down the Durham defence, although they had two short corner chances which they could not convert.

Durham took the lead midway through the first half with a strike from a short corner which looked to have deflected in off a defender’s stick.

Wilmslow had a short corner chance at the end of the first half but could not capitalise.

The men in orange grabbed the initiative in the second half and stepped up the intensity of their play and the pressure on the Durham defence, which started to show signs of cracking.

Wilmslow finally took a short-corner chance when Simon Swatland equalised by lifting the ball over the keeper from a rebound after Mike Sambell’s initial strike was saved.

The visitors were in the ascendency but could not capitalise on their territorial advantage, and Durham were fortuitously awarded a short corner after they played the ball dangerously past Wilmslow players’ heads in the circle.

Durham converted their corner to win it at the death.

The seconds took down their division’s leaders, Southport, 3-2.

Mark Lumb opened the scoring but Southport struck back to go into a 2-1 lead.

The hosts, finally fielding a full-strength side, battered away at the Southport defence and it took a split-second perfect shot from Steve Edmonds to level the scores. After much pressure a Rick Pfeiffer follow-up won the game.

The men’s thirds and fourths returned empty handed from visits to Rhyl and Alderley Edge.