Ben Rhydding Ladies 2 Whitley Bay Ladies 2

FROM the whistle this was an aggressive and fiercely contested match. Within minutes winger Katie Hawke closed down a defender and was struck in the face by a lifted ball and play had to be stopped while the astro turf was cleared of the blood she had left behind.

Whitley Bay employed the spoiling tactics that Ben Rhydding are becoming increasingly familiar with but Demy Dowley worked the ball through to Rachel Doherty on a run into the D and she passed to Melanie Thompson who unselfishly laid the ball off for Doherty to finish.

A frazzled Ben Rhydding defence was then subjected to a series of short corners and 'keeper Clare Shads was forced to put on a remarkable display of agility to keep the opposition from scoring.

It was a powerful shot after a breakaway run from the Bay centre-half that levelled the score.

The second-half was a frenzy of heated hockey. The umpires did absolutely no favours for Ben Rhydding but the home crowd kept Rhydding's heads up and forced them to battle on.

They definitely looked the better side but were unable to turn possession into points and frustration was obvious when Bay managed a second goal.

Rhydding did not give up and after a spell of good pressure Mel Gough slammed home a well-taken corner to level the score.

Ben Rhydding are discovering that it is tough at the top but they remain untoppled in the Northern Premier League and will be very determined to beat Worksop on Saturday in a re-scheduled fixture.

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