A cold, wet and bleak day was the appropriate back drop to the first league game after the Christmas break - and a defeat for the men's first team of Potters Bar Hockey Club.

They started in tough fashion, with a home tie against East League Division One South leaders Bishop's Stortford.

And although the top dogs had just enough to win 3-1, there were plenty of positives for Bar and no lack of effort.

The home side were able to welcome back several players and name a strong 15-man squad for the encounter but they were put immediately under heavy pressure as the away side showed their championship credentials.

Slick passing in attack and a smothering high press in defence made life very hard for Bar from the word go and Stortford won seven short corners in the opening 25 minutes, with the returning Ben Balmforth pressed into almost constant action.

The pressure had to tell eventually and it was from another Stortford corner that the inevitable goal came.

The initial effort was saved and cleared from the D but when the ball was hammered back to the penalty spot, and after Balmforth had more another save, the rebound was tucked away by an unmarked forward.

The half did end with some signs of life in the home team.

Zak Khan was looking especially potent when carrying the ball and Bar were at last able to put some passing moves together and hold onto the ball.

A couple of short corners also led to their best chance of the half, a shot from Hugh Kenney-Herbert which rifled back off the post.

That positive finish was replicated in the opening stages of the second half and they went close when Miles Tomkins’ snapshot was deflected wide after good build up work from George McCormick.

And it was a worthy equaliser that followed soon after.

JayJay Burn managed to get himself in the way of what was looking like a quick Stortford counter, the ball deflecting forwards to Mark Turpin.

And with the Stortford line in the midst of transition from defence to attack, Turpin took full advantage of the space provided, beating the first defender and then shrugging off a scrambling second to slot the ball past the keeper.

At this point all the momentum and belief was with Potters Bar and they twice went close to taking the lead, a shot from a short corner going just past the post with Turpin forcing a short corner on another.

They were hit with a sucker-punch though as a long Stortford aerial out from the back left the Bar defence exposed and won a corner late on, one that was duly put away to restore the Stortford lead.

Bar continued to throw everything they could at the Stortford defence but, with men committed forwards, they were again caught out by a long aerial pass which ultimately led to a penalty stroke and a third clinching goal.

A spokesman said: "Given the efforts expended, the loss was hard to take and there is a feeling that if just one or two more things had gone our way, it would have been a very different story."

The two sides meet again in east Hertfordshire on Saturday.