JOHN Bell and Peter Flanagan grabbed the goals that steered Brooklands Manchester University to a midtable position in the First Division of the Slazenger England Hockey League.

Bell scored from open play after 45 minutes and Flanagan netted a penalty corner six minutes from the end to give the Cheshire team a vital 2-1 win against Old Loughtonians at Georges Road.

The visitors had led at the break through a 25th minute goal from Alyn Meredith with Brooklands again slow to take advantage of the chances they created.

Slowly but surely though, they got a better grip on the game and dominated the second half for a deserved win to send them into the mid-winter break feeling much more confident about their chances of consolidating their place in the First Division.

"It's taken us longer than I expected to adjust to playing at this level, even though we are new to the First Division, but I think the players are starting to understand what is required," explained coach Martyn Grimley.

"They took a lot out of coming from two goals down to win at Bournville the previous week. It gave them a lift and then with the help of some video analysis we rectified a few things and the structure of our team was better.

"We created a lot of chances and corners. We were more compact, kept the ball better and passed it better.

"It's a good feeling to go into the Christmas break on the back of an improvement which sees us now sixth in the table and looking forward to doing even better in the new year in what is a tight league."