South

Exe seconds 7

Okhampton firsts 3

THIS was a fast and competitive game. The visitors worked well together with the Oke defence being challenged in the first half after an early goal from Exe.

The home side then put the pressure on and gained opportunities through a series of short corners. Abi Colton, Jo Moppett, Nicky Pedrick and Sophie Whiteley defended these short corners strongly, blocking many of their shots on goal.

The Oke defence worked hard to keep Exe out of the circle with goalkeeper Alice Wiseman stepping forward and saving shots and clearing the ball. However, despite their hard work Oke found themselves 4-0 down.

Hannah Whiteley and Lesley Bingham pushed forward and supported Moppett with a burst through the middle to win a short corner for Oke; the corner resulted in a premature celebration of the goal that was, unfortunately for the visitors, disallowed by the umpire.

The first half closed at 4-0 but after some encouraging words at half time from injured captain Kim Davey, Oke came out with their heads high.

With the ball near the attacking circle Oke were awarded another short corner; this led to a penalty flick being awarded. Moppett stepped up and put the ball away to make it 4-1.

With their first goal Oke was given a lift and the second half was stronger for the visitors, who demonstrated some superb play on the left hand side. Laura Parsons and Nicky Bennie linked well together with short sharp passes sending the ball up to Anna Speak and Molly Marvin who pushed forwards together towards the attacking circle putting pressure on the Exe defence.

With Oke’s energy up and opportunities arising, Moppett intercepted a pass to steal the ball and slid through the defence, taking the ball around the keeper to score Oke’s second.

In the last 15 minutes Oke’s Jess Medland kept running up front, cutting out passes between the Exe’s strong defence.

Oke won another short corner and a strong strike from the top of the circle was accurately deflected by Sophie to gain a well deserved final goal for Oke.

Both teams played with high energy and determination creating a good, fun game.