In the meeting of two undefeated men's Division 3 teams at Ponds Forge today, Southampton defeated Manchester Hawks 8-7. The game was as close as the score suggests - Southampton were 8-5 up towards the end of the third period but were happy to hold out for the points as Hawks responded in the final stages. Jackson Mullins and Charles Roberts both completed hat-tricks for Southampton.

Four goals apiece by Ben Walker and Nick Ludford earned Cambidge their first win - 10-6 against Otter. Goals in the last two minutes by Ivan Drinkwater and Kevin Steele clinched an 8-6 victory for Croydon Amphibians against Worthing. Castleford collected their first points, beating Cheltenham Spartans 13-6.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Jackson Mullins in action for undefeated Southampton.

City of Birmingham hit back to steal a point against Division 4 opponents Bridgefield at Ponds Forge, Sheffield, today - despite being reduced to six players in the last four minutes following a brutality offence.

Birmingham were 7-6 up when the brutality exclusion occurred. Bridgefield missed the resulting penalty but soon led 8-7 with goals by Liam McCarthy and Andrew Faulkner. That's how it stayed - until the last 10 seconds. Then Bridgefield conceded a penalty, comfortably converted for an equaliser by the outstanding Drazen Videc, Birmingham's top marksman with four.

York City recovered from 10-9 down to beat Hucknall 13-11 courtesy of final quarter goals by Ben Pacey, Chris Burns and Danny Rippon.

Tyldesley made it three wins out of three, outplaying Caledonia Storm 21-6. Matt Hannah scored seven for Coventry against Rotherham - but still ended up on the losing side. Rotherham's 14-11 success included half a dozen strikes by Dan Hunt.

Bridgefield drew for a second time late on day two - 10-10 against York City. York were 10-8 down near the end but equalised with goals by Ben Pacey and - with 38 seconds left - Will Tomlinson.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Drazen Vidic fires past Bridgefield goalkeeper Luke Atkinson.

Five goals in the second quarter - by Luke Roche, Marcus Crompton, Chris Thompson, Harrison Barker-Smith and David Teasdale - put Manchester Hawks in command and on the way to a 10-7 win against Castleford in men's Division 3 at Ponds Forge today.

​Southampton raced into a  9-3 lead against Cheltenham Spartans - and in the end were relieved to hang on for a 12-11 victory! 

​The Cheltenham recovery was inspired by Michael Thomas, who scored four of his six goals in the Spartans-dominated third period. The game went to 10-10 in the final period, then 11-11, before Charles Roberts' fifth goal snatched the points.

Day one finished with Manchester Hawks and Southampton the only teams to complete two wins. The Hawks were too strong for an experienced Cheltenham Spartans side, winning 15-5, including three goals from Andrea Sblano and two each from Conor Lynch, Matt Holroyd, Harrison Barker-Smith, Michael Cousins and Christian Thompson.

Charles Roberts collected four more goals for Southampton as they raced into an 8-1 lead against Castleford and eventually won 13-7.

In one of the best Division 3 games of the day, Croydon beat Otter 11-9. Otter recovered from 9-6 in arrears to trail 10-9 with two minutes left. With a minute remaining, Matt Helps' third goal made the game safe for Croydon. 

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Worthing goalkeeper Marc Guimera makes a fine save from Nick Ludford in his club's 8-3 win against Cambridge.

Tyldesley withstood a third quarter fightback by Rotherham Metro to begin the men's Division 4 campaign with a 15-11 victory at Ponds Forge today.

The Tyldesley lead was 9-3 at one stage before Rotherham hit back to 11-8. Addison Brown (5) and Neil Williams (4) led the Tyldesley scoring while Neil Swainson netted four for Rotherham.

​Coventry grabbed an exciting 9-8 win against Caledonia Storm. The Midlands side were 6-3 up at one stage but Caledonia hit back to take an 8-7 lead in the final period.

​Norman Stephens equalised from a man-up chance before Remmy Gorten claimed the winner with just one minute remaining. 

Bridgefield's 15-5 success against Hucknall featured four goals by Jacob Graham and a Lee Cadwallader hat-trick. Drazen Videc hit six for Birmingham, 13-10 winners against York City.

Photo (Trevor Hyde): Daniel Hunt lines up a shot for Rotherham.

Sixteen-year-old Sheffield junior Arshia Keyghobadi added five more goals to his weekend tally as the Dolphins beat Chelmsford 14-6 in men's Division 5 at Haberdashers today.

Dolphins, Watford Saxons and Invicta Marlins were the only teams to win both their matches. George Sadler contributed five in Watford's 19-2 thrashing of Bedford while Marlins defeated Leeds 9-5 after building an early 6-1 lead. 

The Army chalked up their first win - 18-10 against Bedford. Bedford led 7-6 after two periods but the Army took charge in the third, scoring seven times through Mike Chadwick (3), Adam Hanson (2), Bradley Harvey and Chris Bermingham. 

In women's Division 3 at Liverpool, Rotherham won again, beating Sunderland 9-2. There was also a second victory for Southampton as Jo Yetman and Rachael Mell notched hat-tricks in a 12-4 success against Manchester Comets. Fiona McCann scored six for Liverpool Water Beatles, who won 15-8 against Cheltenham. 

Sheffield Stingrays demolished Sunderland 22-3, which meant they joined Rotherham and Southampton as the only teams with 100 per cent records after the opening weekend.

Rotherham Metro launched their first season in the British League with a comfortable 13-7 victory over Liverpool Water Beatles in women's Division 3 at Liverpool today.

Experienced Chloe Wilcox led the scoring with four. Also on target with two apiece were Fran Leighton, who was GB captain at the 2012 Olympics in London, Emma Jackson and Emily Crossley.

Elinor Weatherill scored five for Sheffield Stingrays as they defeated Manchester Comets 11-6.

You're never too old - or too young - to make a mark in the British League!

In the opening fixture in men's Division 5 at Haberdashers' School today, 53-year-old Richard Hime scored one of the last quarter goals that earned Watford Saxons a 9-8 victory over Chelmsford. Saxons' winner was claimed by Alex Norcliffe with just 34 seconds remaining. At the other end of the age range, two 15-year-olds - Adam Lecomber and Jack Gibson - were on target for Chelmsford.

It was also youngsters who impressed in Sheffield Dolphins' 17-10 defeat of Bedford. Sixteen-year-old Arshia Keyghobadi scored three as did Connor Charles, who is 17. 

The British Army found the going tough on their BWPL debut, losing 13-8 to Invicta Marlins. Marlins led 9-1 before four-goal Nick Covington sparked an Army revival. Andrei Delikatny and Jamie Bailey both claimed hat-tricks for the Invicta team. 

All set for another scintillating, all-action British League season!

The programme kicks off on the weekend of 22/23 September, featuring women's Division 3 at Liverpool - games against Liverpool Water Beatles and Sunderland for newcomers Rotherham Metro - and men's 5 at Haberdashers, where the League's other new entrants, the British Army, take on Invicta Marlins and Bedford.

It's not until 6/7 October that the women's top division makes a start at Lancaster Salt Ayre. Champions Otter face a tough opener, against familiar rivals City of Manchester.

Men's Division 1 begins on 13/14 October at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. Champions Solihull open up with a match against Durham Palatinates (formerly Team Northumbria).

The death has occurred after a short battle with cancer of Neale Murray, aged 52, a regular member of the Birkenhead team when the club competed in the former men's National League.

He was the son of ex-England and GB captain Allan Murray.

Birkenhead's Dave Partington writes: "Neale was one of our most popular players of the 1980s/1990s - he had a very accurate left-handed shot. He converted to goalkeeper later in his career and was still playing local league water polo until January 2018.

​"He will be sadly missed by all his team mates and friends." 

The funeral takes place at 11am on 1 October at Landican Cemetery, Central Chapel, Arrowe Park Road, Wirral CH49 5LW, followed by a noon gathering at Higher Bebington Royal British Legion, Teehey Lane, Higher Bebington.