SALISBURY Hockey Club's ladies' first team returned to winning ways on Saturday, edging a 2-1 victory at home to near neighbours West Wilts.

The hosts took the lead early on through Lisa Lovatt and looked the livelier side, playing confidently and causing West Wilts problems with their quick, short-game.

But the visitors clawed their way straight back into the match, closing down the Salisbury players all over the pitch and marking ferociously.

Salisbury did well to hold onto their slim lead up to half-time.

After the restart, they came out determined to add to their solitary goal.

They created chance after chance only to be thwarted by a resilient West Wilts defence.

The visitors were a handful - always on the look out for opportunities to hit Salisbury on the counter-attack.

A mistake by Clare Fanner came perilously close to letting them in for an equaliser, but 'keeper Lyndsey Smith performed heroics to clear the ball off the goal line and keep the hosts' in front.

But moments later, there was nothing she could do to stop an excellent ball into the D being drilled into the net by an unmarked player.

The goal only served to strengthen Salisbury's resolve and they reasserted themselves with waves of fresh attacks on the visitor's goal.

But it was birthday girl Linda Scrace who finally made the breakthrough, with four minutes left on the clock.

On Saturday, Salisbury ladies travel to Bath Buccaneers for a friendly fixture.

Meanwhile, Salisbury men's first team faced a difficult clash at home to promotion favourites Haslemere.

The hosts started slowly and were pinned into their own half for much of the first 25 minutes.

It was all the Salisbury defence could do to limit the visitors to four short-corner strikes, each of which resulted in a goal.

At 4-0 down, Salisbury could well have given the game up for lost, but they fought back.

Andy Grandfield and Rob Selbie forced the Haslemere 'keeper into two good saves before Dickie Head scored twice to reduce the deficit.

Haslemere exploited a rare mistake to add another just before half-time.

Relaxing with their three-goal cushion, the visitors were taken aback by Salisbury's renewed second-half attack.

Croxall fired a reverse stick shot into the net and, with a rattled Haslemere player yellow-carded, the hosts went in for the kill. Head came close to completing his hat-trick before setting up an opening for Grandfield to drag Salisbury back to 5-4.

They piled forward, looking for the equaliser but Haslemere hung on and put two more past Green to seal a victory that was a lot less comfortable than the 4-7 scoreline would suggest.

On Saturday, Salisbury travel to pointless Aldershot and Farnham.