Ben Rhydding Ladies lose

Chester Ladies.....4

The sunshine at Chester did nothing to lift the spirits of Ben Rhydding as they left the pitch after this gritty competition, robbed once again of vital league points.

Claire Britcliffe in goal had a baptism of fire in the opening ten minutes as she was immediately called into electric action as Chester bombarded Rhydding's right hand side with an astonishing bout of early possession which inevitably ended in a great goal for them.

Plan B was put into action. Ben Rhydding released Rachel Doherty from the bench and reliably she put a sweetly controlled flick away within three minutes of taking the field.

The scores were not remain level for long. Despite some excellent hockey from Rhydding, Jackie Barrett fiercely contending for possession in the attacking 25 and Jackie Goodwin so light on her feet turning the Chester defence in circles, they went unrewarded.

Chester's sprightly front runners were quick to capitalise on errors at the back and began a roll of darting runs, notching up three goals in quick succession. All credit to Rhydding whose heads did not go down and they continued to work hard gaining a penalty stroke in the dying minutes which the accomplished Ismay MacDonald spun into the top corner.

Rhydding have three national league games left, all will be utterly crucial as they sit above just two teams in this highly demanding contest and on Saturday the formidable league leaders, Liverpool will be hungry for another three points. The push back will be at 1.30pm at Ben Rhydding Astro Turf.

Ben R Ladies..............8

Harrogate...................3

Pam Gibson, Manager of Ben Rhydding Ladies, was quite clear in her expectations of her side in this Yorkshire Cup clash.

She expected Ben Rhydding to put the game to bed within 15 minutes and she was not disappointed. Determined to show their class, the ladies turned the screw straightaway and didn't give Harrogate a look in.

Mel Gough began the scoring with a superbly struck penalty corner. Demy Dowley was next to claim one with a thumping, slightly lifted shot to give the Harrogate 'keeper no chance. Melanie Thompson, always good at close range, picked off the scraps of a Doherty shot to place the ball neatly for goal three.

Demy Dowley knew that galloping up in support of Rachel Doherty is never a wasted journey as she beat several players on the left to lay off for Dowley to slam home number four. It was Doherty herself who made it 5-0 with a steadily placed shot that completely confused the 'keeper.

Complacency set in after half-time as Rhydding rested on their laurels and endured a humiliating ten minutes as Harrogate rallied and threw everything they had at Ben Rhydding burying three goals with great glee.

It was only when Ismay Macdonald put away a well earned penalty stroke that Rhydding gathered themselves and began linking some moves together again.

It was textbook 'triangles' hockey that led to Jackie Goodwin's expertly finished goal with great support from Melanie Thompson and Rachel Doherty. Mel Gough had the final say with an awesome shot from a penalty corner that went in like an express train into the back board to finish the game at 8-3.

Hull University..........2

Ben Rhydding lls.......1

With many regular players missing Ben Rhydding Seconds were ultimately disappointed not to take a share of the spoils in this low key encounter.

In brilliant sunshine the game was spoilt by one umpire who refused to allow the game to flow. The students took an early lead through a short corner which could have been stopped by a youthful Rhydding side who fought their way back into the game.

Hugh and Luke Lambert combined well on the right feeding Wilson. It was their persistence which created a short corner and Logan, the stand-in striker for the injured Hatfield, showed how it should be done placing a swerving shot over the keeper's pads into the net.

Hull continued to break quickly playing the ball hard from stick to stick. A further short corner was forced home before the break.

In the second-half Rhydding had sufficient chances to win the game but Hall and Gooch could not force them home. After a good string of results it was disappointing not to snatch a point from a late short corner. Booth's Man-of-the-Match for a second successive week was Green.

Boston Spa...............6

Badgers.....................1

Ultimately this was a resounding victory for Boston Spa who showed that direct hockey with few frills can be very effective. Yet for the first 25 minutes they were played off the park by the youthful Badgers whose superior skills and enthusiastic running off the ball exploited gaps in the opposition defence.

The combination of Chris Borrett and James Metcalfe on the left instigated several Badgers' attacks which almost brought goals for the quick thinking Tom Zillessen. A precise Chris Borrett drag out from a short corner led to Badgers taking a deserved lead when Norman Borrett was on hand to finish off the well practised routine.

That was as good as it got for Badgers as the goal stung Boston Spa into action and five minutes before half-time they had taken the lead with two excellent goals including a wonderful shot into the roof of the net from the edge of the circle.

In the second-half Boston Spa attacked relentlessly and the only bright spots for Badgers were Chris Borrett's tireless running in midfield, the encouraging way in which Zillessen and Metcalfe fed off scraps in attack and Tavare's normal accomplished display in defence.

But even these notable efforts could not prevent their opposition adding a further four goals to run out deserved winners.

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