Southgate battled to a 3-2 win over Team Bath Buccaneers on Saturday in the Mens Hockey League Division One South.

Jonny Maunder and an Alex Williams brace helped the side up to third in the table with their sixth win of the season.

Southgate got off to an uncharacteristically slow start as Bath produced an attacking performance right from the first whistle.

The early pressure paid off as Bath took the lead with only seven minutes gone as Ben Stone fired past Chris Rea.

It proved to be a wake up call for the hosts and they were soon level as Maunder scored from a penalty corner.

Southgate dominated the half from there on and went ahead when Williams deflected home the rebound from John Sterlini’s saved penalty corner.

Williams then doubled his tally and made it nine for the season just two minutes later as he notched from close range.

The home side were denied a fourth goal before the break as Paul Pongs saw his effort from the penalty spot kept out by Oliver Wickens, and that allowed Bath to get back into the game three minutes before the interval as Stone got his second from a well-worked penalty corner routine.

Before the half was up, there was time for Southgate’s Max Garner to be sent to the sin bin, collecting a ten-minute yellow card for a rash challenge in the Bath circle.

The second half was a much tighter affair, but Southgate were inviting trouble right from the start as Pongs joined Garner in the sin bin for dissent.

Some resolute defending from the hosts while down to nine men kept Bath at bay, however, and Southgate managed to hold onto the narrow margin of victory until the end.

Next up for Southgate is a trip to Oxted this Sunday in what will be their last game before the Christmas break, with a win possibly taking them to the top of the table.