Ben Rhydding Ladies 5

Jackie Barrett, the stalwart of Ben Rhydding Ladies first team, proved that 13 was indeed unlucky for some when she scored the decider in the match against Winnington Park on Saturday.

After 13 years without a goal in the first team she took the ball from the half way line dribbled into the D and planted a rocket shot in the roof of the net. The cheers from both the players and crowd could be heard from afar.

Ben Rhydding's fairytale season continues, after going 3-1 down in the first-half due to a lacklustre start, they managed to show some real guts, and in a period of nail-biting hockey pulled the score back to 3-3 thanks to goals from Rachel Doherty and Melissa Reynard.

Ben Rhydding at times struggled to keep the penetrating Winnington Park front line at bay but perseverance from centre-back Leanne Brook kept Rhydding in a strong position.

After Barrett made it 4-3 and coach Pam Gibson had picked herself up off the floor, the finishing touch was once again made by Rachel Doherty to seal victory.

Winnington Park showed great thought and determination throughout but the character that Rhydding showed at crucial times bodes well for the remaining three games in the league.

Adel 2

BR Ladies lls 2

Any fixture against Adel is always a hard-fought battle and this was no exception. After a sleepy start by Ben Rhydding, Adel scored within the first five minutes and it took Ben Rhydding until the second-half to equalise through Helen Tickner, who was unmarked and scored with a reverse stick sweep against her old club.

Shortly afterwards Adel regained the lead only to be caught up again after a short corner shot from Demy Dowley was deflected into the Adel goal and necessitated consultation by the umpires before a goal was rightly awarded.

Most of the match was played by Adel through their strong midfield which required the Ben Rhydding pivotal players Vicky Winters and Karen French to move play wide and to find Alexa Jennings on one of her darting runs which caused the Adel defence a number of headaches. The nature of the game also meant that the tackling was hard and goals were more likely to come from errors by either side rather than from set piece play.

As has been the case all season, the Ben Rhydding defence of Natalie Favell, Clare Oates, Katie Priestley, Dot Mainwaring, Hayley Fitzgerald and Michelle Eldridge worked well together and withstood a succession of short corners towards the end of the game. The other consistent factor in the game was the use of Camilla Dyson's unprotected body as the first line of defence for short corner shots. She would like to thank Adel for this week's selection of bruises!

Overall it was a fair result which leaves Ben Rhydding in mid-table and safe.

BR Ladies llls 1

Otliensians II 0

Ben Rhydding Ladies Thirds entertained Otliensians Seconds in a tough, competitive but friendly match. Ben Rhydding started where they had left off the previous week by putting Otliensians' defence under great pressure only to be thwarted by the visitors' defence.

Ben Rhydding once again caused problems with their telling runs from Laura Beardsmore and Ellie Banks. Alice Ackroyd had another superb game at centre-forward and following some excellent passing Ellie Banks drove into the circle to score.

After the break, Ben Rhydding continued to push forward but Otliensians were always quick to counter and put Ben Rhydding's defence under pressure.

The return of Katie Priestley as central defender ensured that their play was broken down. Jenna Appleby kept a clean sheet with some good solid defending towards the end of the game when Otliensians were pressing for the equaliser.

Mary Pawson had another outstanding game, going close to scoring on a number of occasions, and Karina Kilner and Beth Pawson continue to play well together. This was a superb performance by all the team and they seem to have returned to their winning ways. As in the match earlier in the season against Otliensians, this was a game played in good spirit.

Huddersfield 0

BR Badgers 5

March is the time of year when the current crop of youngsters begin to earn places in higher teams in preparation for next season. It also gives the Badgers' coaching staff the opportunity to introduce new faces and on Saturday's evidence the future is looking bright for next year.

The Badgers selected three 12 year-olds Thomas Roberts, Callum Connor and Kieren Borrett, all of whom played extremely well, and three 15 year-olds in Leon D'Abundo, Ryan O'Keefe and Simon Timperley, who were equally effective.

The match on Saturday was a closely fought affair for the first-half and the Badgers were grateful to reach the break with a one goal lead thanks to Andrew Cussons' impressive undercut.

In the second-half the youngsters took over and played some majestic hockey. Goals came from D'Abundo, O'Keefe (2) and Kieren Borrett for Badgers' biggest win of the season.

BEN RHYDDING (home to Southport, 1.30 pm): Weaver, Gledhill, Foster, Cutter, Sugden, King, Parkes, D Kelly, Schofield, Hannath, W Musgrave, Bull, Beckford.

Seconds (at Ramgarhia, 1.30 pm): Oakes, N Horsman, L Lambert, Bevington, A Gibson, Thompson, Locke, I Cussons, J Laxton, Hatfield, J Horsman, Harmer. Sunday at Bradford University 1 pm H Lambert joins the squad.

Thirds (home to Driffield, noon): Pratt, Jolly, Hudson, Vernon, Skinner, Logan, Baker, Hansell, Sutherland, G Forbes, Charters, S Laxton.

Fourths (at Huddersfield 4.30 pm): Parapia, Radford, R Gibson, Chin, Pickard, A Musgrave, Birkenshaw, T Zilleson, Pawson, C Borrett, Gooch, Hatton.

Fifths (home to Gainsborough 10.30 am): Funnell, Lowe, Blackburn, Barrett, S Mounsey, Jordan, Ketterman, R Dawson, Till, Hornby, Hall, S Forbes.

Sixths (at Doncaster 4.30 pm): Terry, S Woodhead, Whitworth, A Packett, B Dawson, Massey, Harlen, A Charlesworth, Brown, Hart, Metcalfe.

Sevenths (home to Boston Spa 4.30 pm): Briggs, A Cussons, Roberts, Connor, Birtwhistle, N Borrett, K Borrett, N Hutton, Grummitt, Ashdown, Eldridge.

Ben Rhydding Ladies Thirds (at Harrogate, meet at Safeway, Otley at 1.30 pm) from: H Wilkinson, J Raw, E Lowe, L Beardsmore, E Banks, K Kilner, B Pawson, S Ellis, J Steele, C Chapman, M Pawson, A Ackroyd, R Ellis.