B R Ladies 2

Don Valley 2

DON Valley are in the division above Ben Rhydding in the Northern Premier League but are grappling at the bottom and look set for demotion, whereas Rhydding seem set for promotion, so both sides had a point to prove.

Valley scored an early goal but this is not uncommon for Ben Rhydding who then stamped their authority on the first-half with excellent 'possession hockey'.

Some sparkling one-twos between Katie Hawke and Melanie Thompson were rewarded with a super goal from Thompson, who soon in the second-half returned the favour, setting Hawke up for a similar goal.

Don Valley came out hard this half, tackling very low and effectively and scored an equaliser on the break.

Mel Gough covered a lot of ground and halted several goalward runs from Don Valley while Clare Shads put on a demonstration of 'text-book' goalkeeping, calling on all aspects of her repertoire.

Jo Wilson battled tirelessly in the middle under great pressure and maintained good composure.

Rhydding had plenty of near misses and can be forgiven for feeling that they were the better side.

The ladies' preparation work is definitely going to plan and they can look forward with confidence to Saturday's fixture against Chester at home (push-back 3.00pm).

Acomb ll's 1

Ben Rhydding 0

The Fourth men's team renewed its league campaign in need of points to secure its current league status.

The team travelled to play a strong Acomb side riding high in the league.

Despite the different league positions a determined Rhydding overcame early pressure to make life difficult for Acomb.

In particular the visitors benefitted from the father/son pairing of Lambert senior and junior, down the right-hand side.

However, shortly before half-time, against the run of play, Acomb scored a sloppy goal.

The second-half saw both sides have periods of dominance. Rhydding's defence did well to defend a series of short corners. Hard work from Nixon and Pickard led to the creation of two good chances but regrettably they were not taken.

This was another gutsy performance from Rhydding and especially the three youngsters yet typically they did not romp home with the points they deserved.

Huddersfield Vl's 2

Ben Rhydding Vll's 0

The hosts belied their lowly position in Yorkshire division eight to inflict defeat on their third placed visitors.

Huddersfield scored from a short corner with a wonderfully executed scoop over the Ben Rhydding keeper. A scrambled effort then doubled the lead.

Ben Rhydding were always chasing the game and the visitors found themselves outgunned by the strong and skilful Huddersfield players.

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