Tavistock Pumas 2 Saints 1 THIS was always going to be a tough match as both teams were sat in 1st and 2nd position in the league ?and Pumas wanted to take ?a few scalps? from the last hard fought match. John Barratt and Matt Way worked well through midfield and allowed the ball to be distributed to both sides of the pitch. This is where the speed and skill of Sarah Barratt and Laura Armstrong came into play. Both these players linked well together and gave some cracking feeds of the ball into the ?D?. On the right of the pitch Jo Gaspar was working well up front and coupled with Dom Lovett and Chris Wilson, the Pumas had numerous shots on goal which the goalkeeper saved. Wilson also played a major part in marking one of the opposition?s key players out of the game thus preventing any major dominant attacks. Supporting through midfield was the job of Fiona Dunn and Kevin Lethbridge and with good early calls from goalkeeper, James Pitts, the ball definitely stayed in Tavisock?s possession. Laura Stapleton tackled well and was strong in her determination to take the ball from the players. Unfortunately, Saints had a break on the left and broke through the defence to score a good goal. Not to be deterred by this, the Pumas kept working hard with Pitts making some excellent saves which allowed Tavistock to regain possession and drive the ball down the pitch. Tom Honey and Lovett worked well and demonstrated their high level of skill as they took the ball past numerous players. Honey had the ball and heard the call from Armstrong who was waiting on the post and slipped it neatly past the keeper. Armstrong was definitely goal hungry in this match and this showed in her pitch play. With the second half seeing a fresh pair of legs on the pitch in James Barratt, spirits were high. Both teams looked for a quick goal and Saints would have had this if Pitts had not made some of his best saves this season. With the ball being aimed high into the corners and from awkward angles Pitts saved every ball. Way continued to work well and was a key point in the middle. All the ladies were working well and Robynne Honey was working extremely hard through midfield and then upfront. The game was in neither team?s full control and the level of hockey was of a high standard. With Dunn and Lethbridge sat on key players outside the ?D? and Stapleton, Barratt and Way sat through midfield the ball was eventually coming back under the Pumas? control. With only two minutes remaining of the game, Tom Honey had a goal opportunity and scored the winning goal. Pumas continued to work hard and were determined not to lose this match. Player of The Match: Chris Wilson and James Pitts. Today (Thursday) at Marjons 7pm.
