Petrol two

Okehampton ladies seconds 3

Sidmouth and Ottery thirds 1

OKEHAMPTON needed a win to retain second place in the league and any chance of promotion next season. 

They started strongly piling forward in numbers but were unable to break down the oppositon defence.  Okehampton started to get frustrated and allowed Sidmouth and Ottery into the game. 

The visitors gained a couple of corners and Okehampton were rocked when they scored against the run of play.

A much needed half-time break allowed the Columbines to re-group and they came out fighting. 

Goalie, Alice Wiseman, was well-protected by her defence of Sandy Douglas, Debbie Pritchard, Rachel Adams and Nicky Pedrick who were able to pick up the ball without too much pressure and distribute wide to the wings of Holly Davison and Sophia Marshall.

Rochelle Woollacott held firm in the middle at centre back which allowed Anna Speak, player of the match, the freedom to roam and create space and interlink with her wingers. 

However, Columbines were still unable to break down the Sidmouth defence until eventually a ball from Anna found Viv Weatherington in the circle and she was able to slip the ball past the unsighted visiting goalie.

The relief for the Okehampton players was palpable and they relaxed and were now playing good hockey, using the width of the pitch and passing well. 

Alex Collins, Emma Wiseman and Annebel Rademaker were running rings around the Sidmouth and Ottery defenders and it was no surprise when Collins scored Okehampton's second goal with good interplay between her and Rademaker, which was repeated for the third goal when the latter was set up to score to give Okehampton a well-earned win.