Alnwick

Alnwick left a frosty Northumberland at 7.30am, so an early pitch inspection was required. Steve Wood pronounced the pitch playable at 8.15am to the complete shock of the Slaz captain who from her duvet viewed a totally white landscape (and wanted to stay there). Both the frost and early arrival seemed to affect Alnwick who started slowly, allowing Slaz to settle into their formation and constantly attack. The home team had numerous shots and short corners and were unlucky not to convert sooner than 20 minutes into the game, when Andrea Wallace spotted a chance to meg the Alnwick keeper from a short corner.

The opposition found it hard to respond to the continual pressure, struggling with the Slaz 3/4 pitch press and thinking their only option was to blast it as hard as they could. This worked to the advantage of Slaz who picked the ball up and attacked swiftly time after time….until veteran striker Mandy Sowerby managed to trap her thumb between her stick and a fast approaching ball. An initial request for ice turned into a trip to Pinderfields after she couldn’t hold her stick to go back on (broken in 3 places and requiring pinning, bad news for Slaz – our best wishes go to the birthday girl).

Slaz made sure the departure of Mandy did not affect them (in fact a few didn’t realise she’d gone at first), concentrating on obeying an earlier mandate (for once) to finish the game by half time. Consequently some excellent linking play resulted in two fantastic goals by on form striker Sarah Cooper taking Slaz into the half time break leading 3-0.

The 2nd half should have been a chance for Slaz to improve goal difference but having been told to win by half time; and thinking they had done so, they seemed content to sit back and enjoy the hockey. The defence were cool and collected and there was tireless work by all the midfielders, so the return of Ailish Hendry, back after exams was most welcome. Slaz attacked a tiring Alnwick for most of the second half; a special mention goes to player of the match Jessica Rudge who couldn’t seem to hit a barn door this week but never stopped trying. Six points out of the last two games make a happy team who will be even happier with a trip to Hull on the minibus to look forward to next week.

Team photo:Back row (left to right) Donna Simpson, Sarah Hobbs, Katie Firth, Helen Hough (captain), Laura Teasdale, Mandy Sowerby, Andrea Wallace, Kelly Whittam; Front row (Jessica Rudge, Ailish Hendry, Elinor Townend, Claire Mills, Hayley Wood, Sarah Cooper,

Slaz Ladies 1sts travelled all the way to Alnwick in their first game against the North East team.

As a team which had finished high in the league last season, the Horbury side knew they would be playing a tough match, but came out of it with the first win of the season.

After a loss and a draw, in their opening games, the team had changed to a new 3-4-3 formation and it paid dividends. Within the first 15 minutes, the deadlock was broken through an individual effort from Sarah Hobbs, dribbling it from the half way line, and finishing it with an unstoppable strike into the bottom corner.

With a goal on the board, Slaz settled into the game, playing some fluid hockey and holding their own against the more experienced team.

This sustained pressure was awarded with a short corner 10 minutes later, leading to the second. The ball was hit out to Captain Claire Mills who passed it through to Mandy Sowerby, setting up Andrea Wallace to knock it past the keeper.

While it seemed as though Slaz were on the ascendence, Alnwick were not going to let them have all their own way. Within 10 minutes, they orchestrated a fluid move to being the deficit back to 1. The ball played across the goal with an unmarked striker on stand by to touch it in (2-1).

The second half was far more evenly matched. Slaz struggled to convert their pressure into a further goal, and a strong back line performance maintained their lead. However as the second half drew on, it was the Horbury team who manufactured a final goal to put the game beyond doubt. Ailish Hendry played a disguised pass to Elle Poskett, who took on the Alnwick back line and set up Jessica Rudge for a simple tap in.

The game ended 3-1 to Slaz, who host Newcastle University 1st Team next week (1:30pm at Slazenger Sport Club, Horbury)