Roseberry 2, Ben Rhydding 6

Ben Rhydding Ladies emerged victorious from a hard-fought encounter against a side fighting to avoid relegation.

It was never going to be a pretty match to watch, as Roseberry attempted to thwart all Rhydding's attempts at flowing hockey.

The Ilkley side did well to maintain their discipline and control of the game and the end result demonstrated their commitment to the cause, as they once again improved their goal difference, maintaining their position as league leaders.

Ben Rhydding started well but found it hard to put together some consistent flowing hockey and Roseberry always looked dangerous as they fought for every ball.

The visitors looked at their best playing a two-touch game and took the lead after a series of passes which saw Melanie Scott slot the ball home past a diving 'keeper after a neat cross from Rachel Doherty.

Within a minute Roseberry had equalised, however, as a lapse in concentration in the Ilkley midfield left a couple of players unmarked, and they capitalised in fine style, leaving 'keeper Vicky Prigg no chance.

Ben Rhydding then settled and found their discipline and were soon in front once again, as Scott this time found Doherty in the area, who rounded the 'keeper and fired her side ahead.

From then on Ben Rhydding enjoyed the majority of possession but knew that any let-up might let their opponents back into the game once more.

Melissa Reynard finally scored a deserved goal after a number of fine runs, working well with Doherty and Catherine French in attack.

French then made it 4-1, pushing the ball home after a goalmouth scramble.

Roseberry proved they were not about to give up, however, and on a rare foray into the Rhydding area, scored an opportunist goal from a first time shot.

But Ben Rhydding were not about to lose their grip on the match and soon had the game sewn up as defender Rachel Smith thundered home a short corner strike, a shot worthy of any centre-forward.

Doherty then wrapped up the match with a classic solo effort, beating her defender before dummying the luckless 'keeper to bring the visitors' tally to six.

With just five games remaining, Ben Rhydding are top of the league on goal difference.

Saturday sees them play host to Whitley Bay (1.30pm at Ben Rhydding Sports Club).

North Premier League table:

P W D L F A Di Pt

Ben Rhydding 13 12 0 1 62 20 42 36

Timperley 13 12 0 1 45 18 27 36

Chester 13 9 1 3 30 19 11 28

Blackburn N 13 6 1 6 27 29 -2 19

Driffield 13 6 0 7 28 36 -8 18

City of York 13 4 3 6 20 26 -6 15

Whitley Bay 13 4 2 7 23 35 -12 14

Roseberry 13 3 1 9 21 32 -11 10

Colne Valley 13 2 3 8 25 45 -20 9

Wigan 13 1 1 11 16 37 -21 4

Under-16 girls

outplay their

opponents

LAST Sunday the Ben Rhydding Ladies Under-16 squad travelled to York to play against Brigg, Doncaster and Roseberry in the fifth round of the Yorkshire Hockey League.

Unfortunately Brigg were unable to field a team so Ben Rhydding were awarded a win without lifting a stick.

The next game was against Roseberry who always play skilful, attacking hockey.

On this occasion, however, they had to be content with defending as Ben Rhydding outplayed them and netted six goals. Ben Rhydding's defence had little to do but always remained disciplined and focused.

Lucy Denison at right forward had an outstanding game scoring a hat-trick and putting in some hard crosses. One of these crosses was skilfully swept into goal by Emma Flather who had only run on the pitch a minute earlier as substitute centre- forward.

A further goal by Emma and one from Beth Pawson completed the scoreline.

The squad then faced their old rivals Doncaster. Their style of hockey is quite different from that of Roseberry. It took the girls quite a while to adjust to the different style but thankfully the defence was able to soak up the pressure.

Jenna Appleby played her usual cool, controlled hockey in goal. Laura Beardsmore must be one of the best sweepers in the league and she put in some timely tackles and strong clears out of defence.

Vicki Sutherland, Raine Ellis, Ellie Banks and Georgie Brown completed the Ben Rhydding defence, playing disciplined, sensible hockey.

Having withstood this pressure Ben Rhydding moved up a gear and produced some of their best hockey of the day.

The passes between Karina Kilner, Caroline Picken and Laura Tweddle in midfield put Ben Rhydding back into the attack.

Excellent support play from Emma Flather and Beth Pawson resulted in two goals with Beth's name on them and the victory Ben Rhydding deserved.

The team has one more round to play in March and look certain for a place in the finals on April 6. If they continue to play the awesome hockey they have produced in the last five games they will give the other finalists a run for their money.

Kelly's six

BEN Rhydding Hockey Club men's first team continued their excellent run with a 7-1 thrashing of Warrington.Prolific Australian Dan Kelly netted six of the goals and the other came from C Smith.

The second team lost 3-0 against Brigg and the thirds went down by the same margin to Adel.