B R Ladies 1

Winnington Park 1

This fabulous hockey spectacle provided the crowd at Ben Rhydding with the whole range of spectator thrills.

Ben Rhydding emerged composed and determined after last weeks-resounding victory and played a tight first ten minutes and despite an early goal from Winnington Park remained positive.

The ball was moving beautifully from side to side and the departure of Dot Mainwaring with a nasty blow to the head did not disrupt the momentum of Rhydding's play as Jo Wilson and Demy Dowley slickly shifted roles and the team re-adjusted.

Skipper Jackie Goodwin, a tireless workhorse, was well deserving of the equaliser as she put away a free ball from close play in the D and Rhydding looked set to put away a few more as they began to play with poise and confidence.

In the second period the game became tense as several controversial umpiring decisions put humours ill at ease. The ultimate insult came when the indefatigable Goodwin slammed home a beautiful second goal and was back at the half-way line enjoying the celebrations before the decision was over ruled by the other umpire and the goal disallowed for an unseen kick of the ball.

Manager and Coach, Pam Gibson and Peter Richardson, were exemplary in their professionalism and calmly encouraged their players to swallow it and reply with good hockey.

Jackie Barrett battled on relentlessly on the right in the face of great adversity and received an unjustified "tit for tat" warning when her opposite number was carded but continued to play with great focus. Despite excellent concentration and endless patience no goal came and the last ten minutes saw Winnington Park get a series of 18 penalty corners and Rhydding breaths were held each time.

It was with a certain acceptance of a fair result that Rhydding left the field. Winnington Park had been let off the hook but so had Rhydding and they had to agree to a draw.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.