Women’s Hockey 2nds 1
Manchester 5ths 3
A game that was described as ‘Manchester dominated’ by captain Sian Holland, ended in another home defeat for the UCLan Women’s Hockey 2nds, this time going down 3-1 to Manchester 5ths.
Despite the loss, captain Holland was convinced that they played a better game on Wednesday compared to the other matches so far. She added: “In comparison to previous weeks, it was a massive improvement, the defence played really well this week.”
An impressive display from goalkeeper Hannah Shore and the rest of the defence helped the score stay to a minimum, however UCLan still lie bottom of the Northern 4A league.
UCLan were on the back foot from the minute the whistle blew, with a great save coming in the second minute, as Manchester had a short corner which was kept out by Shore’s feet.
The home side only managed to get the ball in the opposition’s half three times during the first period, which shows the control that Manchester had on the game. Saves just kept coming from Shore as she rightfully kept a clean sheet for her fine efforts.
The second half started as it had ended, with Shore keeping Manchester out again with another great save. A minute later the post denied the away side the lead, but they were rewarded shortly after, as an easy tap in from a cross gave the game its first goal.
In a hectic 15 minutes after the goal, UCLan’s defence stood firm and denied a second goal for the visitors with two diving saves, a clearance off the line from Jemma McCleery and a shot that rebounded off the crossbar.
Just as Manchester looked like they would finally score another, UCLan stormed down the pitch in only their second attack of the half. Jess Woodhouse received the ball on the far side, crossing it in for Gemma Yates who tapped it in at the far post to tie the score.
A lucky second for Manchester minutes later gave them back their lead. The ball was played into UCLan’s D and a poor piece of control from the forward wrong-footed Shore and the home side had it all to do once again.
As UCLan pushed forward in the last moments of the game the result was wrapped up, as Manchester orchestrated a great one two move and finished it into the corner for their deserved victory.
By Chris Kynoch


