Petroc two

ISCA LADIES’ FIFTHS 5

OKEHAMPTON LADIES’ THIRDS 2

Okehampton gave a spirited display in an evenly balanced and good-natured match which both sides enjoyed.

Isca were confident from the off and soon had the visitors penned into their own circle. Oke goalkeeper Carol Newman was outstanding as shots rained in and together with some last-ditch tackles from the defence, Isca were kept at bay before a goal from a short corner gave them a deserved lead.

From the resulting pushback, Oke streamed forward testing the Isca defence for the first time and had equalised within two minutes with a goal well taken by Eleanor Marvin. This clearly rattled Isca and they hesitated to press up the pitch as Oke were seeing more and more of the ball. Maddie Davison chased everything down the right wing for Oke.

In the first half Oke played superbly with Sarah Marvin and Izzy Rowlands shutting out Isca through the middle.

Eventually they were rewarded for their constant pressure when Isca failed to clear their lines and Alex Collins pounced to give Okehampton a 2-1 lead at half time.

Unfortunately the break came at the wrong time for Oke. Isca scored fairly early on and the momentum swung the other way. The visitors then went on to score a further two goals in quick succession.

But Columbines were still giving their all and creating attacking opportunities. Eleanor Marvin and Anna Crome worked the ball well together with quick and incisive passing but could not find a real goalscoring opportunity while Sarah Bazeley and Alex Collins worked hard to find space up front. The defence of Sandy Houston, Jen Humphry and Lois Rowlands were excellent throughout.

Isca were well-managed and in the end Okehampton tired and ran out of steam. Isca scored again in the closing minutes leaving a perhaps flattering scoreline.