TABLE-TOPPING City of York Hockey Club Ladies I extended their lead to four points in North League division one with a 4-0 victory at Deeside Ramblers I.
The visitors showed no ill-effects following a three-week lay-off due to adverse weather conditions, picking up their seventh win from nine games.
York started well by winning a penalty corner early on in the match, but they were denied by Deeside’s defence.
The first goal came through Kirsty Rossington, who received the ball with her back to goal and, surrounded by players, managed to turn and push the ball through the defence and ’keeper’s legs.
Having gained a one-goal lead, City played with more confidence and increased their pace and intensity.
The second goal came after the umpire missed an infringement in the ‘D’ and the ball fell to Laura Horne.
She gathered it and smashed it across the face of the goal, where Rossington beat the ’keeper to deflect the ball into the back of the net from a tight angle.
This two-goal advantage gave York more confidence, but Deeside went on the attack.
A third goal came York’s way before half-time from a short corner variation, this time is was Ali Butler who found the back of the net with a top of the ‘D’ strike.
In the second half, York kept up the pressure.
They earned a handful of short corners but, after three weeks off, their routines did not run as smoothly as normal.
Deeside created several chances, but York’s defence were determined to keep another clean sheet. York went down to ten players for the last five minutes after Sam Binns received a yellow card for breaking the line early when running out on short corners.
City’s fourth goal came from a break away play between Horne and Ruth Laybourn, who broke free from Deeside’s backline to create a two-on-one with the ’keeper, and Horne put the ball into the net.
Valley of tears for Acomb Ladies II
Boston Spa and Acomb Ladies II suffered their fifth defeat of the Yorkshire Hockey League division two season.
The Tangerines went down 2-1 to fourth-placed Colne Valley I at Energise in Acomb.
The defeat leaves Boston Spa and Acomb third from bottom in the table, three points ahead of strugglers Harrogate III and Wakefield V.
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