Ladies 1st XI Sept 15th

Saturday September 15th saw game one and game on for Brooklands Poynton in the Investec Women’s Conference North. It was a tough opener versus Loughborough Students at the Georges Road ground. There were several league debuts for the home team and the welcome return of Sarah Newman following her second maternity break from hockey. The Brooklands Poynton girls started brightly, taking the lead on 6 minutes through a Helen Turner goal thanks to composed play by Kelly Baxter in the D. The Students and their youthful exuberance also created chances in the first half with the home side allowing the opposition too much space leading to their equalising goal on 25minutes. However, Brooklands Poynton responded well coming close with a Baxter strike pinging back off the post and a last ditch clearance from another effort from Turner. The half time score line was 1 apiece. The second half saw a stronger Loughborough performance with them working hard in numbers and effectively taking advantage of the new rule allowing the ball to be lifted from free hits. Brooklands Poynton endeavour was thwarted though by unforced errors and poor passing. Despite managing to force the Loughborough Keeper into making 2 good saves it was the Students who edged ahead thanks to a 54th minute penalty stroke. Final Score 1-2. So, frustratingly another pointless start to a new season for BPHC.  Overall there were positives from the Brooklands Poynton performance to build upon; however, there is certainly plenty of room for improvement! Next week sees a trip to Liverpool Sefton where BPHC will look to put right those areas requiring a better performance. Thanks as always to our supporters for coming down to cheers us on, it’s great to have you there.