Okehampton ladies 8

Falmouth ladies 6

This fixture saw two evenly matched teams produce some superb hockey in an end to end thriller.

It was the visitors who opened the scoring when Okehampton were caught out defending high up the pitch, allowing the Falmouth attack to show their speed and leaving keeper Shannon Osman exposed.

Okehampton ladies responded quickly and with accurate passing through the midfield, found Kim Davey in the circle whose hit was tipped in by Lesley Bingham to equalise.

Falmouth stepped up and despite some crucial tackles and solid defending from Anna Cherrington, Rachel Hammett and Jane Jones, Okehampton were pinned back in their own D. The sustained visitors attack forced some great saves from goalie Shannon before the ball finally crossed the line.

Oke worked hard to apply pressure on the visitors but the Falmouth defence tackled well closing down the play and were quick to break to find space and score their third.

The home side tightened their marking and with some superb support play from midfield Kim Bland and player of the match Amanda Sim, Okehampton pushed forwards and the determination of Kim Davey was rewarded as she scored just before the half time whistle.

Shortly after the break, Falmouth were awarded a short corner which was bravely headed off the line from Rachel Hammett, unfortunately resulting in a penalty flick, which was duly converted. This saw the home team 4-2 down.

Spurred on by the vocal sideline support, Jo Moppett showed her mettle and scored two fine goals in quick succession to put Okehampton back on an even keel.

With both teams now hungry for the win, the match increased in pace and tempo. Falmouth initially profitted by scoring their fifth goal but their lead was short lived. Oke responded using the width of the field to spread play and split the Falmouth defence, probing through balls, perfectly executed team work, and some beautifully placed crosses from Kim Davey resulted in goals from Alex Collins, Jo Moppett (2) and Hannah Whiteley.

Falmouth had not given up and in the closing minutes of the game countered to score their sixth and the final goal of this exhilarating match.