With the wind howling and the rain lashing, a Saturday by the seaside at Southend probably wasn’t high on the agenda for most – but Blueharts Ladies and Men’s 1s braved the elements to return home with wins.

A single goal from Lucy Nissen proved enough, along with a standout performance from Sophie Barker, as the Ladies 1s moved to within a point of third place in the East Division 1 South table.

The Men’s 1s also made the 140-mile round trip to Essex and returned 4-2 winners, inspired by a man-of-the-match display and two goals from midfielder Chris Gadsden.

Richard Julian and Graham Burr were also on target as Blueharts stayed sixth in the East Premier Division.

A dominant performance from the Ladies 2s saw them chalk up a third successive clean sheet as they defeated Welwyn 2-0.

Sophie Featherby set up Ally Antoniou for the first goal – and Antoniou then turned provider for the second scored by Meme Brown.

It was a similar story for the Ladies 3s as they beat their Welwyn opponents 4-1, two goals each for Jules Rees and Kat McLarty.

The Men’s 2s fought hard but were beaten 3-0 by Division 1 South leaders Cambridge South at Lucas Lane.

Rory Williams marked his first appearance for the Men’s 3s in some style as they won 3-0 at Potters Bar - the youngster scored with his first touch for his new side on his way to the man-of-the-match award.

Brandon Mahrra and Ben Hammond added the other goals as the 3s stay second in East Division 3 South West.

A short corner after three minutes from Katie Louise set Stevenage Ladies 1s on their way to a 2-0 victory over Saffron Walden 2 in East Women’s Division 2 South West.

The game was relatively even throughout and the hosts needed Lara Gavillet to save a ball on the line, before they made the victory safe with a second goal from Nikki Greaves.

The Ladies 2s went down 5-2 at home to Luton Town in East Women’s Division 3 South West, while the 3s were also defeated, 2-1 at Bishops Stortford in the same division after a last-gasp equaliser was ruled out.

A fortuitous strike gave the hosts the lead but there was nothing lucky about their second goal which came from a really good strike from the top of the D.

A fine Bella Osman strike from a short corner reduced the deficit and with 20 seconds to go Stevenage won another short corner.

The ball came out of the circle and was played back in before it was slotted home, but the final whistle had been blown a couple of seconds before the ball hit the goal.

Stevenage men’s 1s were beaten 3-2 at Shefford & Sandy in East Men’s Division 2 South West, but there were better fortunes for the men’s 2s who beat their Rickmansworth counterparts 4-0 in East Men’s Division 4 South West.

The men’s 3s had a tough away day in East Men’s Division 5 South West, losing 3-0 at St Albans 7s.