BANGOR City Men's hockey team finally claimed their first away win of the season on Saturday with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against relegation rivals Alderley Edge 5s.

City started brightly and took the lead on 15 minutes when Harry Collins-Jones squared the ball across goal for Dave Paterson to tap in.

Jack Brookes and Ash Hardaker had opportunitues to add to the scoreline but were denied by some brilliant saves from the Edge keeper.

The home side drew level on 27 minutes from a well-struck short corner, and despite further attempts from Bangor's Paterson and Graham Lorrimer, the scores remained 1-1 at the break.

City upped the tempo after the break and re-took the lead on 48 minutes when skipper Tom Hughes squeezed a low shot past the keeper into the bottom right corner.

The visitors searched for a third goal and went close through Lorrimer and Patrick Wright, before Paterson found the net with a cool finish on 60 minutes, following a terrific trademark run from Jack Brookes.

The last 10 minutes were an edgy affair for City as Alderley looked for a way back into the game. During a spell of sustained pressure, City defended four short corners thanks to great blocks from Andrzej Griffiths, Harri Evans and birthday boy goalkeeper Keith Proudlove.

However Edge drilled a shot into the bottom corner at the fifth attempt to bring them back to within a goal with four minutes left.

Despite the hosts' best attempts, Bangor held their nerve in the closing stages to see the game out for a much-needed win.

The victory sees Bangor put a six-point gap between themselves and second-from-bottom Alderley Edge, who occupy the last relegation place.

City will aim to build on that great team performance as they welcome Denbigh to the Brailsford Centre 3G next Saturday, pushback 2.30pm.