Hawks flying after first win

NORTH East Manchester Hawks, a new junior handball club serving Oldham, Tameside and Rochdale, have enjoyed their first sporting successes.

The fledgling club have both a boys and a girls team in the new England Handball Association (EHA) Under-18 Junior League.

And the boys have bounced back from their opening-day defeats to record wins in the November round-robin matches staged at Birchwood, Warrington.

They beat Warrington Wolves 18-14 with a fine second half performance after being 1-6 behind in the early stages.

And then they found their best form with a 22-13 win over Bedford including a stunning first half display which saw them lead 8-0, with ’keeper Terry Ellis dreaming of a shutout before the half closed 13-3.

The girls team fielded an inexperienced line-up with some of their more established players unavailable and were beaten 15-5 by Warrington Wolves and 11-6 by Deva.

Scorers-

BOYS: Warrington Wolves 14, NEM Hawks 18 — James Higgins (4), Ishmail James (4), Stefan Whaley (4), Jamal Braithwaite (3), Matthew Barnes (2), Adam Bowie.

Bedford 13, NEM Hawks 22 — Jamal Braithwaite (5), James Higgins (5), Stefan Whaley (4) , Wesley Hunt (3), Matthew Barnes (2), Ishmail James, Josh Walker, Pavel Winnick.

GIRLS: Warrington Wolves 15, NEM Hawks 5 — Lydia Morgan (2), Josie Woods (2), Alyssa Woods.

Deva 11, NEM Hawks 6 — Lydia Morgan (2), Alyssa Woods (2), Josie Woods (2).