Lancaster 1 – 0 York
Roses 2012 was the first time the Lancaster women’s hockey thirds had ever competed for points, and it proved invaluable for the home side as a 1-0 victory scooped them a point for Roses in a tense and gruelling match. The atmosphere was enthralling as the men’s hockey team used speakerphones to bring an element of fun and humour to the competition.
In the first half of the match, both teams had excellent opportunities to score, Lancaster more so than York. The passing left right and centre between Lancaster’s Beth Cox, Nic Whiteford and Lara Miller, was a force to be reckoned with. The passing, especially from Cox, was extremely accurate and well-placed.
Sonia Trévisan, a defender who played excellently, took a great free hit which set up an opportunity for Lancaster but unfortunately the York defenders proved too good for the Lancaster offence. The York attack hit back and took a great strike at goal, an aerial shot which Lancaster goalkeeper Laura Walsh saved brilliantly.
After the brief York dominance, Lancaster took charge and were awarded three short corners in a very short space of time. The ball was constantly going back and forth in both halves of the pitch; it was difficult to say who played better but Lancaster had the slight edge over the White Rose.
At the beginning of the second half, the Lancaster team looked more energetic than ever and their enthusiasm certainly paid off. A few minutes into the half, Lancaster left winger Clara Betterman scored a superb goal after a long awaited build up. The crowd were ecstatic as the ladies thirds were proving their worth to gain the Roses points.
York had many opportunities in the second half but they were in vain as every offence ended in Lancaster possession. The Lancaster defence proved impenetrable. Belinda Houghton and Trévisan’s defending in particular was first-class against an intimidating York offence as both kept their cool, defended well and took exceptional free hits.
York gained a short corner and took aim at goal which yet again Walsh saved. You could feel the York frustration as they were simply unable to score against Lancaster’s defence. York then gained two more short corners towards the end of the game which was very tense to watch as a spectator. The last corner occured just as the final whistle was about to go; to be summoned back to their goal must have been nerve wrecking for the team.
Thankfully, York did not use the corners to their advantage. As the final whistle blew, sighs of relief and cheers echoed on the pitch.
Being the only win for the ladies hockey of the day, it was a significant win and showed that the thirds were a valuable asset to the Lancaster Roses team. Ecstatic captain Amy Routledge expressed her happiness to SCAN; “Everybody played very well, York were good competition. I’m very proud of my team”.
