Old Loughtonians men bounced back from a below-par display to beat Oxford Hawks 3-2 in the National League.

They fell behind early on against the run of play, when a slick cross was deftly deflected into the net, but levelled from a penalty corner thanks to Harvey Edwards.

And Loughts took control in the second quarter with slick passing, high ball pace and commitment, with one move involving Euan Gilmour and Tom Watson only thwarted by a superb save from the home keeper.

Loughts continued to impress and their pressure eventually told on 33 minutes when they won a penalty corner and Edwards stepped up once again to convert in powerful fashion.

And Watson was on hand on 67 minutes to make it 3-1, converting after a superb move from back to front.

With two players sidelined due to green cards, Loughts conceded a penalty corner in the final quarter and the umpire ruled a defender stopped the ball on the line with his foot.

Jack Tranter was beaten from the spot but Loughts saw the game out without further alarm, with Dan Jackson back to his best in the middle of the park.

The return of Nathan Gladman also proved key, as he showed great skill and vision in a fast, eye-catching contest.

The seconds fell behind within 20 seconds against Spalding but camped in visiting territory for the rest of the first half without finding a way past the keeper.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Spalding doubling their lead against the run of play and making it 3-0 from their only short corner of the game.

Loughts had an effort ruled out before Tom Gayler and Archie Crowley netted to set up a frantic finale, but the visitors held on for all three points.

The thirds lost 4-0 at Upminster, while the fourths went down 4-1 at Chelmsford, but the Willows beat Old Southendian thirds 2-1 as Phil Beauman and Mark Donnelly netted.

The Willows Woodsmen lost 4-0 at Saffron Walden, but the Willows Rangers ran out 6-0 winners over Upminster fifths to go top.

Sam Kendrick bagged a brace, as Peter Anderson, Connor Hollaway, Thomas Madden and Rehan Sheikh also struck.

The Willows Axemen were edged out 1-0 by Redbridge & Ilford thirds, while on Sunday the under-16 boys had a tough cup fixture against Surbiton, who went 2-0 up before goals from Gus Peddy and James O’Malley Kumar levelled the score.

Surbiton scored twice more in the second half and Loughts could not find a way back.

The under-18s won 1-0 at Cambridge City, where Toby Gayler netted the only goal after seven minutes.