Tavistock Ladies firsts 2 Isca thirds 2 THIS was going to be a tough game for Tavistock — firstly the hockey teams were closely matched in the league and secondly the home team were down to only ten players. The game opened with Tavistock having to work hard in defence to prevent Isca from scoring and in the first ten minutes the home side struggled. However, Sarah Barratt and Becky Lamb were working extremely hard in the midfield for Tavistock and Barratt was chasing down every ball. Laura Stapleton held strong through the central defence and with Susannah Boulle and Fiona Dunn at the back it was difficult for Isca to find a gap. Unfortunately one of the home players failed to clear and the ball came off a Tavistock stick to see the first goal go to the Exeter side. Tavistock continued to work hard and their efforts were soon rewarded as Jo Gaspar and Barratt had been passing the ball well to each other to create a goal scoring which Barratt duly put away. This lifted the team's spirits and Laura Armstrong increased her work rate thus allowing Barratt to have a breather. Tavistock were playing some really good hockey now and were passing the ball all around the pitch. Judy Miller worked well up front and was able to chip the ball off her stick for Lamb to take some shots at goal. The opposition struggled to get into Tavistock's 'D' and although they were playing the ball around the 25 yard area, Dunn and Boulle held firm and kept them out. Excellent timing and positional play from Tavistock saw a second goal for the home team. A good strike at the keeper from Miller allowed Tavistock to finish the first half 2-1 up. The second half saw the quick thinking skills of goalkeeper Tavistock's Zoe Viggers come into play. Viggers made some excellent saves and really outwitted the opponents every time. A player from Isca was allowed to roam free and it was from this that Isca equalised the score line at 2-2. Tavistock captain Fiona Dunn kept spirts high as she knew the team had worked too hard to not come away with nothing. Despite only having ten players, Tavistock were the dominant team as the goal scoring opportunities were more abundant for them rather than the opposition. The Tavistock players were pleased to hear the final whistle and were proud of how well they had played and conducted themselves through the game. Tavistock: Zoe Viggers, Fiona Dunn (captain), Susannah Boulle, Laura Stapleton, Lisa Butler, Becky Lamb, Laura Armstrong, Sarah Barratt, Jo Gaspar, Judy Miller.
