DROITWICH Spa Hockey Club Men's First XI got their DTZ Premier league campaign off to the perfect start with a 3-2 home victory against Stone.

In a match slightly marred by five red cards, Gareth Thomas' side let a 3-0 half time lead slip and ended up holding on for the points.

The hosts started well, keeping the majority of possession, and were rewarded with an Ed Deacon goal.

Paul Atkinson caught the Staffordshire side's defence in possession and crossed for Nick Bates who diverted the ball out of reach of the goalkeeper for Deacon to slot the ball into an empty net.

Further pressure from Spa led to Barry Williams doubling their advantage. Richard Woodward played a neat one-two with Williams who slotted the ball under the goalkeeper.

Droitwich extended their lead further still when they were awarded a penalty corner, which saw Stone reduced to ten men.

From the resulting corner, Liam Hine flicked home the third to give Spa a comfortable lead at the break.

After the interval, a lacklustre Droitwich side allowed the visitors to mount a fight back, with Stone eventually pegging Spa back to 3-2.

Then it all got a bit crazy with both sides having two men sent off.

First, two Stone players were given their marching orders for late tackles, leaving the visitors with just eight players on the field.

Then it was Spa's turn. They lost Hine and then goalscorer Williams, also for late tackles.

In a nervous final ten minutes Spa could have sealed the game. Late chances from Deacon, Nick Sankey and skipper Thomas were all denied by good saves.

Droitwich travel to Walsall this Saturday.