Okehampton ladies 10
Falmouth ladies 3
THE fact that Okehampton scored in double figures does not really reflect the excitement of this hockey match, the skill and determination of the Falmouth side or the hard work of all the players.
The dynamism and team work of Oke's Jo Moppett and player of the match Lesley Bingham were demonstrated from the early stages; they outpaced the Falmouth defence but the visitors remained dangerous and persistent. Jo Moppett opened the scoring followed swiftly by two goals from Lesley Bingham whose elegant touches and intelligent placing frequently wrong-footed the defence.
Falmouth then put Okehampton under great pressure in the goal mouth and their third short corner was beautifully taken with a cracking and well-placed shot to put the score to 3-1.
A hard working midfield, particularly effective from Viv Weatherington and Jane Jones, kept feeding the ball through to Jo Moppett and Lesley. By the end of the first half Jo Moppett had scored another three goals and Lesley another one to take the score to 7-1. Falmouth came back and while play was consistently pulled to Okehampton's left both Amanda Sims and Joey Drake kept the right side active with good positioning and free-flowing play.
Effective tactics and team work by Falmouth led to more defensive short corners. Carol Taylor and Netty Collette led the defence but could not stop Falmouth from pulling one back. Sophie Whiteley showed her usual fire and blighted several other blossoming Falmouth attacks.
Jo Moppett's superb solo runs resulted in two goals. Falmouth continued their attack and despite some lovely strikes catching the post, they were eventually rewarded with their third.
Joey Drake for Oke fed Jo Moppett some of her chances. Now the table was reversed and a pass from Jo Moppett to Joey Drake was well taken up to score shortly before the final whistle.