Petroc two

Okehampton ladies’ thirds 4

Ottery and Sidmouth ladies’ fourths

OKEHAMPTON began the game in a buoyant mood, planning on playing an attacking game and pressurising their opponents at every opportunity.

Initially the teams were evenly matched resulting in fast end to end hockey but soon Oke took control winning the ball in defence and worked it up the pitch with fast accurate passing.

Oke were rewarded when a ball was projected forward from deep in midfield and passed around the Sidmouth circle leaving Sandy Houston in space to score Oke’s first goal. This gave Oke the confidence to keep pushing forward moving around off the ball and outwitting the visitor’s defence.

Oke’s attacker Sophie Tripp was in the perfect position to receive a pass from Viv Weatherington and hammer it into the goal to give Oke a 2-0 lead.

Despite valiant play the Sidmouth defenders they were unable to stop Viv Weatherington from getting a third goal for Oke before half time.

Sidmouth came out fighting in the second half forcing Oke’s central defender Rachel Adams to ensure the defenders marked tightly and cleared the ball away from the Oke goal. Emily Palmer, in her first match for the club, worked hard at left wing-half dropping back to help defend but also using her speed and strong hit to attack.

It was Oke’s player of the match Annie Strawbridge who sealed the victory for her team, pouncing on a rebound from the Sidmouth keeper to score the fourth and final goal.