Ladies Hockey
Bollington firsts 0 Oswestry Ladies firsts 3
A MATCH that Oswestry had been both looking forward to and dreading for most of the season to date arrived.


Second placed Bollington have followed Oswestry up the leagues in recent campaigns and have provided stern challenges, they started the day only two points behind Oswestry and therefore this was a crucial encounter.

Oswestry travelled with a squad of 13 with a few players missing, including top scorer Tracey Royle through injury.

It was a determined Oswestry side who started, unwilling to give up their advantage in the league and soon achieved a breakthrough. Debbie Hampson ran onto a loose ball in the D and slotted it past the Bollington goalkeeper to give Oswestry the lead.

The game continued to be quite frantic with both teams putting pressure on the opposition without being able to find the final shot needed. Towards the end of the second half, Oswestry started stringing more passes together and started to look like more of a cohesive unit.
 

A half time team talk decided more of the same was needed for the second half, Oswestry needed to remain calm and not react to any provocation from further umpiring decisions.


The second half started in much the same way as the first half had ended. Oswestry put pressure on the Bollington goal which resulted in them being awarded a penalty corner. Captain Lisa Bladen stepped up to slot the corner home to double Oswestry’s lead. This goal seemed to galvanise Bollington who were becoming more dangerous on the break, but Oswestry’s defence stood firm making key interceptions.

Bollington were awarded a series of short corners but failed to take advantage of them as Oswestry keeper Liz Killen produced a series of saves to keep they at bay. Oswestry cemented the win with a third goal by Sarah Lowe following a goalmouth scramble.
 

At the final whistle, the joy of Oswestry was obvious from the celebration of the players. A strong performance rewarded by the result they had wanted. Oswestry go into the Christmas break five points clear at the top of the league, not returning to league action until January 19.