Tavistock Pumas 4 CSD 1 AS this was the last game of the summer mixed hockey season, Tavistock Pumas knew they needed a win to secure 2nd place in the league. With a strong team out on the pitch, Tavistock had the opportunity to ensure that they won the match. The game opened with CSD taking quick possession of the ball and feeding it out wide to their wing players. This was unfortunately their downfall as Jo Gaspar and Fiona Dunn marked out the players on the wing resulting in the opposition having to play the ball through the middle. This was quickly intercepted by the speedy legs of Shane Lovett, Chris Wilson and Tom Honey. Honey fed the ball to a running Dom Lovett and Laura Armstrong and despite having some shots at the keeper, Tavistock were not able to secure the first goal. A free hit by Tavistock resulted in the ball going straight back to CSD and Tavistock were outnumbered in the ?D? resulting in CSD scoring. Tavistock Pumas picked up the pieces and began to play some good hockey. Laura Stapleton worked well with Robynne Honey and Fiona Dunn and these three players were able to drive the ball swiftly up the pitch. The midfield kept working hard and with Armstrong, Lovett and Honey goal hungry it was not long before Tom Honey equalised the score line at 1-1. The second half of the match saw a much stronger passing game from Tavistock and this allowed Gaspar to push up the pitch and Wilson in order to penetrate the ?D? put more pressure on the opposition?s defence. Dom Lovett scored the second goal of the match and not long after Tom Honey scored again from an excellent strike that the keeper was unable to save. All the Tavistock team pushed up the pitch and the odd time that CSD did regain possession, Kevin Lethbridge and Fiona Dunn soon prevented any more attack from happening with some strong tackles. It appeared that CSD could not find any gap through the midfield and defensive play of Tavistock. Goalkeeper Martin Ozbourne played well in goal and gave some good early calls of any potential threat. With seconds to go before the final whistle, Tavistock were awarded a corner which allowed the whole team to surround the ?D?. The ball was hit out to Stapleton who played a lovely strike past the keeper taking the final score to 4-1 to the Pumas. This final match result puts Tavistock Pumas into 2nd place in the league which is an excellent finishing position after quite a tough summer season. Tavistock Pumas thanked Shane Lovett, Joe Raeburn, Phil Honey for their help with umpiring. Tavistock: Martin Ozbourne, Kevin Lethbridge, Fiona Dunn, Laura Stapleton, Jo Gaspar, Chris Wilson, Shane Lovett, Tom Honey, Dom Lovett, Robynne Honey, Laura Armstrong. Player of The Match: Dom Lovett.
