Okehampton ladies thirds 6

Plymouth Marjon ladies’ fourths 1

UNDETERRED by the wet conditions, Okehampton thirds took to the pitch in high spirits to face the middle-placed team from Plymouth.

A rousing pre-match talk from captain, Jane Jones, found its mark and Nicky Strawbridge opened the scoring for Oke in the early minutes of the game. Okehampton now had everything to play for and inspired attacking team-play soon saw Strawbridge taking her second goal beautifully, aided by an accurate cross into the D from midfielder, Sophie Tripp.

Plymouth tried hard to break down the Oke defence but were unsuccessful and Oke once again used the full width of the pitch to connect with player of the match, Strawbridge, who scored her third goal before 12 minutes had elapsed.

For the rest of the first half, the Plymouth team tried hard to fight back but the strong defensive play from Oke left goal-keeper Daisy Morgan with plenty of time on her hands. Increasingly rattled, Plymouth gave away a series of short corners and, towards the end of the first half, a powerful and accurate strike from Sandy Houston meant Oke took a 4-0 lead into half time.

Plymouth came out strongly in the second half but the Oke ladies were determined not to see their lead slip away. Excellent play from defender, Anna Luxton, repeatedly found Zoe Curtis on the left wing. Zoe’s speed and agility frequently moved the play back to the attacking half but, before long, Plymouth used their strength to send the ball out wide before crossing into the middle of the D and scoring their first goal.

Quick to retaliate, a storming run from Sandy Houston saw her penetrate the Plymouth defence and engage in a front-of goal tussle with the Plymouth goal-keeper leaving them both on the ground; dashing into the attack, Oke defender Joey Drake was quick to capitalise on the open goal picked up the ball and slot it in for Okehampton’s fifth.

Plymouth came back out on the attack but the Oke team worked tirelessly to keep them out. Their diligence was rewarded towards the end of the match when Viv Weatherington skilfully picked up a ball from Houston to seal the game with Oke’s sixth goal.