The ladies seconds faced tough conditions this week, playing at high altitudes on top of Mount Halifax; with arctic temperatures and little oxygen due to the height. This however would not faze them as they put up a strong fight against top-of-the-league Halifax.
Proceedings were slightly delayed with captain Nez forgetting an umpire; a now vital tool for any hockey match. Luckily a man eating McDonald’s was recruited to do the honours and the game went ahead.
It was the home team who made the strongest start, scoring in the opening 3 minutes and Slazenger struggling to acclimatise.
It was looking like a long afternoon for the seconds, but the committed stars weren’t going down without a fight. There was some solid cupping from the attack, keeping Halifax pinned in their own half. Good runs from Hannah Field and Sue Hope created chances in the ‘D’ for Natasha Wiper and Elle Poskett; but as the saying goes ‘they couldn’t hit a barn door’. Halifax then scored, doubling the deficit and making the hill Slaz had to climb bigger than the one to the pitch.
Slaz came out for the second half switched on, with passing from the midfield cutting Halifax open and creating many chances. One of these chances eventually fell to Daisy Gee Sanders, who battled in the D and got her shot off; bringing the score to 2-1.
This made for a nervy last 15minutes for Halifax, making them defend in depth to keep the Slaz attack at bay. The home team did pull off some counter attacks that required some solid tackles from man of the match Julie Finch and a fine save from Lisa GK.
In the end Halifax managed to hold out and take the 3 points, leaving Slazenger with nothing despite their best efforts. Quotes from the sideline included: “these are the best opposition to play us”, allowing the seconds to go home with some positivity.
