A goal 36 seconds from the end by Connor Carpenter earned Sheffield a 10-9 victory over Sutton & Cheam in men's Championship 1 at Matlock, preserving his team's 100 per cent record from three matches.

The game was evenly fought throughout, the lead changing hands several times. Sheffield were 3-1 up after the first quarter but Sutton were ahead 5-4 and 7-6 before a tense final quarter began at 8-8. Sutton edged ahead once again thanks to a Carlo Diegone goal. But Finlay Parnell converted from a man-up to equalise with three minutes left before Carpenter claimed the belated winner.

In the meeting of two teams that began the season in Division 1, Durham Palatinates hammered Polytechnic 18-7, racing into a 6-0 lead before the London side registered a goal.

Exeter were 9-6 down to Welsh Wanderers but then swept to a 14-11 victory with goals in the final period from Darren Heagarty, Kameron Powell, Sam Alberici, Gabriel Alberici and Tom Hutchens.

Caledonia took the honours in their clash with Scottish rivals Portobello, winning 10-6, including three goals each for Logan Shepherd and Maksim Makarov.

Unbeaten Hucknall will hold a one-point advantage at the top of men's Championship 4 when the final matches take place at Marlborough College on 23/24 February.

However, with results in this closely-fought division unpredictable, the title remains very much up for grabs. Even Hucknall had to settle for two draws in their three latest matches at Liverpool - and were so close to losing out to Invicta Marlins, who led 10-8 in the final quarter. Hucknall responded with a man-up goal from Josh Harridine and then squared the match at 10-10 when Ian Greig netted with just 1.05 remaining. James Spencer-Boyce scored four for the Marlins.

Caledonia Storm beat British Army 11-8 to finish the weekend with maximum points from three games. Hat-tricks from John Faben and Ben Parsons (Photo: Trevor Hyde) ended the Army's undefeated record.

Watford Saxons, 10-6 winners against Leeds, and Coventry, who beat Sheffield Dolphins 13-11, finished the weekend just behind Hucknall on seven points.

The first day of the men's Championship 1 programme at Matlock produced some outstanding individual performances - not least American Zach White's eight goals in Durham Palatinates 16-12 defeat of Welsh Wanderers.

Stephen Bayles led the way for Sutton & Cheam, scoring six in his side's 14-12 victory over Exeter while Chris Brown was on target five times for Polytechnic, 11-5 winners against Portobello.

Sheffield powered their way to a 14-6 win against Caledonia, with Chris Armstrong and Joel Abbott (Photo: Trevor Hyde) both notching four. 

Zach White scored four more but Durham had to settle for an exciting 12-12 draw in their second match against Caledonia. Durham fought back from 7-2 down to begin the final quarter at 10-10. Chris Campbell's two goals - giving him a match haul of six - edged the Scots back into a 12-11 lead. A mere 11 seconds remained when Akos Sahin-Toth equalised for Durham with his fourth goal of the game.

Close finishes were the order of the day as men's Championship 4 began its second weekend of matches at Liverpool.

Hucknall, 4-1 up against Sheffield Dolphins at one stage, found themselves trailing 8-6 in the final quarter. A goal by Iain Greig (Photo: Trevor Hyde) reduced the margin with 2.46 to go; within a minute, Sam Joyce claimed his fourth goal for Hucknall to square it at 8-8.

Caledonia Storm and Leeds reached the final period level at 6-6. It was the Scots who dominated the rest of the game, winning 10-7 thanks to goals by Guy Broadhurst, Jack Robertson, Callum MacGregor and Andrew Woodall.

The Army retained their unbeaten record after four matches by winning a close battle with Invicta Marlins 12-10. Coventry suffered their first reverse - well beaten 14-8 by Watford Saxons. Zac Corcoran was the lead scorer for Saxons, with five.

​Later, Iain Greig led the scoring with five in Hucknall's 11-7 win against Leeds.

Liverpool Lizards staged an extraordinary recovery to beat old rivals City of Manchester 11-10 in the women's Super 5s at Aldershot today.

Manchester were cruising as three goals from Stephanie Whittaker helped them build a 7-1 lead by the latter stages of the second quarter. Even at the start of the last, Liverpool were still 9-6 adrift. Then they took charge, turning the game on its head with goals from Lauren Tasker (3), Emily Pyper and Molly Boniface-Ashton.

Earlier, Otter had little difficult completing their second win of the weekend - 16-4 against Caledonia.

It was also straightforward for Invicta in the men's competition as they outplayed struggling Lancaster 13-1 to complete their second victory. Manchester also grabbed maximum points, beating Cheltenham with surprising ease at 16-7.

In women's Championship 1 at Newport, Hucknall finished with three wins but were made to fight hard by a young Liverpool Liver Birds team before edging through 8-6. Liverpool couldn't get a shot past Hucknall goalkeeper Naya Patel (Picture, above - Trevor Hyde) in the first two quarters, but scored four times in the third through Evie Jones (2) and Charlotte Hopwood (2) to draw level at 4-4. Hucknall recovered near the end to ensure the points with goals by Katelyn Fairchild, India Wilkinson and Eda Colliver.

In one of the best matches of the weekend, Sheffield Sharks withstood a determined effort from City of Bristol to win 9-6. Goals in the final quarter by Bernice Cowton, Larissa Partridge and Danielle Elliot made the difference.

Champions Solihull went down 10-8 to Invicta as the men's Super 5s got under way at Aldershot today.

Invicta enjoyed great success in phase one and maintained the momentum by building an 8-4 advantage towards the end of the third period. That sparked a revival from Solihull, who battled back to 8-8 with goals by Jake Vincent (2), Jordan Elliot and Ryan Padbury. But it wasn't enough - Scott Martin's third goal edged Invicta ahead once again with three minutes to go; Callum Bailey added a penalty 21 seconds from the end.

Manchester had to battle for a one-goal victory over Lancaster in phase one. But it was a different story this time as they swept to a 14-1 victory, including four goals from Joe O'Regan.

In the women's Super 5s, also at Aldershot, Cicely Turner's five goals in the first two quarters led Otter to a 10-6 win over Coventry - and revenge for a narrow defeat when the teams met in phase one. Manchester began their campaign in devastating fashion, demolishing Caledonia 31-4. 

Later, Coventry gained their first points, beating Liverpool Lizards 9-4. Kimberly Watson gave the Midlands side a great start, scoring four in the opening period.

City of Bristol marked their step up to women's Championship 1 by taking a point from a 6-6 draw with City of Birmingham at Newport today.

It could have been better because Bristol led 4-1 early on, only to be brought back to 4-4 - and then trail 6-5 as Jessica Arthur claimed her third goal for Birmingham. Harriet Robinson levelled for Bristol shortly afterwards.

Mid Sussex Marlins led Hucknall 9-8 early in the final quarter but Hucknall grabbed victory as two goals from Katelyn Fairchild - giving her a match tally of five - and another from Eda Collier set up an 11-9 Hucknall win. In the battle of the Sharks, Sheffield beat Leeds 11-8.

Six-goal Kelsy Evans was the star for Tyldesley in their 15-6 defeat of Liverpool Liver Birds. Hucknall beat Bristol 13-7, breaking clear after the game reached the halfway stage at 5-5. Katelyn Fairchild claimed another five-goal haul for the winners.

The death has occurred of Neil Tasker, a member of the powerful Polytechnic team of the 1960s.

Neil was an international freestyler with the Brighton Shiverers club before turning to water polo, his speed and mobility proving great assets to the Poly team as they won the ASA KO competition in 1963, followed by an ASA KO/National League double in 1970.

Following a fall, Neil had been a quadriplegic in recent years, although he still managed to swim every week in the Hove pool.

Former Poly captain and GB goalkeeper Neil May says: "Despite his many problems, Neil's cheerfulness and zest for life have been truly inspirational. He will be sorely missed by his many friends."

City of Bristol recovered from a slow start to beat Manchester Hawks 17-8 in men's Championship 2, completing the opening weekend with a perfect record from three matches. The bulk of the goals came from two of their most experienced players, Matt Thresher (6) and GB Olympic captain Craig Figes (4).

Watford are the other 100 per cent team, also from three matches. They were 4-6 down at one stage to Otter but recovered to win 14-9. Petar Djordijc scored four and there were three more goals for ex-Croatian star Miho Boskovic (Photo: Trevor Hyde).

George Wood scored four as Worthing beat Southampton 10-6. Six-goal Bence Kadar led Penguin to a 15-12 victory over Croydon Amphibians after the teams were level at 10-10 in the third period.

Free-scoring Cheltenham Spartans top men's Championship 3 after the opening weekend of competition, winning all three matches at Gloucester.

After beating Birmingham and Tyldesley, they finished with a 23-5 demolition of Bridgefield. Michael Thomas (Picture: Trevor Hyde) was again in fine form, scoring five and taking his tally in the three games to 13.

Castleford also enjoyed a successful weekend, although they had to survive a nerve-racking final quarter before taking the points against Rotherham Metro at 13-12. Rotherham led 9-6 at one stage but Castleford pulled up to 11-11 by the end of the third quarter and edged 13-12 ahead with three minutes remaining. The rest of the game saw Castleford suffer three exclusions but survive each time, finishing the weekend with five points from three games.

Birmingham beat Tyldesley 15-10 to complete a second win, including four goals by Nigel Greenwood and three from Nathan Wilkes.