HEREFORDSHIRE Hockey Club bowed out of a national tournament after progressing to the knockout stages.

The county lost 6-2 to a well-drilled Nottinghamshire outfit in the last four of a competition which had seen them reach finals day for the first time in 25 years.

Goals from Mark Lowden and Nicko Evans were not enough to guide Herefordshire through to the final, although manager James Dunn was happy with the performance his players put in.

"We played very well," he said.

"But they were a well well-drilled side. The scoreline possibly didn't reflect the whole game. We certainly didn't disgrace ourselves."

Herefordshire found themselves 2-0 down at the break, with Nottinghamshire soon adding a third after half-time.

Herefordshire then got on the scoresheet when Lowden drilled home from a short corner. The county conceded again before Evans scored from open play when he tapped in at the back post after good work by Hamish Cmeron.

Nottinghamshire then added two late goals to round-off their victory in style.

Herefordshire had qualified for finals day during a round-robin tournament which saw them compete against Leicestershire, the Isle of Man, the Royal Navy and Surrey, with the top two teams qualifying.

The county drew with Leicestershire 2-2 and beat Isle of Man 2-1.

The followed this up by defeating Royal Navy 3-1 before ending the weekend with a 1-1 Surrey, which was enough to see them qualify.

The achievement was even more impressive given the county only 14 players available on day one, and 13 on the second day.

“To get through to finals day for the first time in certainly the last 25 years is something the players and county should be proud of," said Dunn.

“When you consider that, as a county we only have three hockey clubs and six teams between them, this just highlights what an achievement it is when you

compare us to other counties such as Surrey where a single club can have eight or 10 men's teams.”