B Rhydding Ladies 3

Winnington Park 3

JACKIE Goodwin, skipper of Ben Rhydding, had every right to feel her team had been robbed in this Northern Counties Premier League match having held the lead for a good part of the game only to suffer a series of incidents that can only be described as sheer bad luck.

Rhydding have discovered that there is little to distinguish the teams in this league and whoever turns on that little something extra on the day will emerge the victor, but luck sometimes plays its part too.

Both sides started with determined and skilful hockey, both trying to force a mistake from the other. Winnington Park were first to score but Rhydding were not disheartened as they knew they could reply and their persistent pressure that refused to yield a goal eventually was rewarded with a penalty stroke which Ismay MacDonald whipped into the net with great composure.

Encouraged by this Rhydding took a firm hold of the game and gave the Winnington Park no breathing space as they set up wave after wave of attack but the Park's 'keeper was playing out of her skin. Rhydding patiently continued to play the ball round and at last drew the 'keeper for a well worked move leaving Melissa Reynard free on the overlap to slot the ball home to them deservedly ahead.

The second-half saw champagne hockey, Jo Wilson monopolised the middle and Mel Gough's faultless distribution initiated much excitement up front. Rhydding made it 3-1 with Jackie Goodwin picking the ball off the keeper's pads after a strike by Demy Dowley with lightning reactions. It was at this stage that some bad luck made the ladies feel jumpy and a second goal from Winnington made Rhydding's lead seem so precarious.

When Izzy MacDonald was cruelly penalised with a yellow card, it was with heavy hearts that her team mates watched her leave the field. From the penalty corner that ensued Winnington Park found their 'get out of jail' card and remarkably put the ball away to level the scores with two minutes to go.

This was very hard to bear and Rhydding can blame the disappearance of their 'holding' game when it was most needed. They showed some sparkling hockey and the confirmation that Ben Rhydding can win in this league .

Ben Rhydding lVs 1

Adel lVs 2

NEW captain Howard Pickard returned to the team for his first game in charge only to see his side lose a game they should at least have drawn if not won.

Whilst occasionally under pressure when visitors Adel broke down their right, the home side was generally able to clear the ball from the back and channel it safely forward through midfield. Against the general run of play, a defensive error allowed Adel to go one up.

Ben Rhydding continued to put Adel under pressure in the second-half, with youngsters Jonathan Radford and Craig Montgomery in particular troubling them. With their help, Simon Murgatroyd was able to create a number of scoring chances, only to put each shot just wide. From a free hit Ben Rhydding moved the ball quickly into the area where Jonathan Radford's sharp reactions enabled him to score.

Although at this point Ben Rhydding would probably have settled for the draw, a quick break by Adel led to a well executed second goal. Indeed, in the closing minutes of the game, Adel might have had a third, had it not been for some remarkable work in goal by Rob Pratt and the assistance of sweeper David Eldridge.

Ben Rhydding Vllls 0

Huddersfield Vls 4

In the first of three encounters with Huddersfield Sixths this season, Ben Rhydding Eighths failed to capitalise on their domination of Huddersfield's half of the pitch last Saturday, and conceded four breakaway goals.

In a hard fought contest, Ben Rhydding put emphasis on a structured attack which kept Huddersfield on the back foot for much of the game. Adam Butterfield and Henry Wood both came close to converting the opportunities fed to them by a dogged midfield but were unable to convert on this occasion. Such was the enthusiasm of Ben Rhydding that gaps began to open up in their defence which Huddersfield exploited to the full.

The team captain, Mark Laycock, said: "The team was disappointed with the result, however, the squad, which only has two regular players from last season, was beginning to take a more permanent shape. The attack had been reinforced by the uncompromising Nik Wood while older campaigners, such as John Mathews Lane and Graham St John gave gravitas to a defence largely new to hockey this season". Mark also added that some serious new talent had arrived in the form of Will Bolland, Andrew Kelly and goalkeeper-Andrew Funell.

Anyone wishing to have a trial with the team should attend training on Wednesdays at 8 pm. The Booth's Man-of-the-Match was Andrew Funnell.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.