The first penalty corner was awarded to Slazengers within the first five minutes, Kate Durrans put in a well weighted pass to the top of the D where Jessica Lloyd had her first shot on goal narrowly miss.
Slazengers had the majority of ball possession & were unable to capitalise on this with a goal. Against the run of play, Horsforth broke down the left of the pitch & managed to score the first goal of the game.
Slazengers were undeterred & battled well; Heather Bates in midfield distributed some great passes out to forwards Julie Bacon & Lauren Fealy. A fantastic pass out to the left winger , Gemma Whittam, saw Gemma drive a great ball along the back line & then pick out Elle Poskett making her run into the top of the D, a great strike from Elle equalised the score to 1-1.
Shortly before half time Horsforth broke in numbers & scored a second.
A reshuffle at half time saw Jessica Holland move into midfield, Jessica made an immense solo run from the halfway line into the attacking D & had a first-rate shot on goal, Sally Thornton narrowly missed the slight deflection required to turn the ball goal bound.
Horsforth made a few substitutions which saw them become more involved in the game. With both sides working hard, the game was end to end. Chloe Bates made numerous saves however, Horsforth were able to score a third from a penalty corner.
Horsforth tried again to attack down the left wing; Millie Crowther was proving solid as right half & managed to dispossess Horsforth yet again. Although Slazengers played some of the finest hockey it wasn’t to be their day. Team captain Julie Finch, was delighted with the performance & discipline shown by Slazengers in the game & was pleased with how many positives could be taken from Slazengers performance.
Player of the match went to a well deserved Kate Durrans.
