Petrol two

Okehampton ladies seconds 1

Newton Abbot ladies seconds 1

LAST week's poor performance and disappointing loss against Honiton, meant that Okehampton ladies dropped to third in the league.

Ten minutes in and Okehampton were dominating play. Unlike last week, accurate passing, possession and creative play ensured that midfielders Rochelle Woollacott and Louise Weller had ample opportunities to feed the ball forwards to the awaiting attackers Alex Collins, Annebelle Rademaker and Viv Weatherington.

Both Alex and Annebelle worked together, their short passes keeping the visiting defence busy.

A crucial change in tactics, passing the ball to an unmarked Weatherington, made all the difference. She made a firm strike at goal, the ball avoiding the goalie, hitting the backboard to put Oke 1-0 up by half time. 

Newton Abbot, having not lost a match all season, were not giving the home side opportunities to increase their lead; in fact they put considerable pressure on Oke.

The home side had to dig deep to win the ball and keep possession. Left defence, Nicky Pedrick, channelled their wing numerous times along the sideline forcing them to put the ball out of play in right defence while Debbie Pritchard was continuously running to intercept any loose balls and keep them clear of the home team's circle. 

The visitors' attacking forwards were relentless; they made numerous strikes at goal. Okehampton's defence felt the pressure making many errors within the circle. This led to several penalty corners. Goalie Alice Wiseman, Oke player of the match, however, demonstrated her skills and resilience by clearing one strike after another out of the circle. However, Okehampton failed to notice that one of the Newton Abbot players was left unmarked, and she took full advantage by hitting a fast and accurate shot to bring the score to 1-1.

The home side fought hard to score again. Wingers Sophia Marshall, Anna Speak and Holly Davidson worked tirelessly to make the link between the cleared balls from the defenders out of the circle up to the forward line. Collins, Weatherington and Rademaker seized every opportunity to increase the lead but the whistle blew at 1-1.

Okehampton seconds demonstrated their best hockey skills of the season in this match and hope to return to second.

n This week Okehampton ladies' seconds are away to Torbay second.