South

Okehampton ladies first 4

Kingsbridge and Salcombe 5

OKEHAMPTON ladies made a determined start to the match and were rewarded early on. With a through ball from Kim Davey, Jo Moppett timed her one touch strike to perfection, powering the ball into the back of the net. It did not take long for Kingsbridge and Salcombe to equalise and seting a blistering pace that continued throughout the match by both teams.

Okehampton's Sarah Jones worked tirelessly to secure possession in the centre of the pitch feeding the forwards and applying pressure on the visitors, causing them to give away a short corner. A text book move saw Jo Moppett slip the ball to a waiting Kim Davey, who smashed it against the backboard.

In a period of play that saw the ball move quickly from end to end, Molly Petherbridge and Hannah Whiteley for Oke made some penetrating runs deep into the visitors' defence but to no avail. The visitors were quick to counter, moving the ball swiftly back up the field on a number of occasions. It was Kingsbridge and Salcombe who added to their score tally first before Moppett, outwitting the defence with some superb individual skill, scored Oke's third.

Determined to stay in touch, the visitors equalised shortly before half-time.

As the second half started the visitors mounted a sustained attack but home defenders Rachel Hammett, Jane Jones and Nicki Stoneman soaked up the pressure with support from midfielders Ailsa Gibb and Lottie Rademaker.

Back in their stride, Okehampton linked up well with a passing move that started at the back from Katie Adams, up the field and a cross in from Moppett found Rademaker on the far post to slot the ball home.

Kingsbridge and Salcombe fought back and were denied as brave goalkeeping by Shannon Osman thwarted many attempts on goal, as did a save off the line by Carol Taylor, earning her player of the match. But their persistence paid off as once again the visitors drew level.

Both teams could now taste victory and Okehampton pushed hard for their first league win, committing players in attack were caught on the break resulting in a goal for Kingsbridge and Salcombe.

Oke rallied yet again pushing forward forcing their opponents' keeper to make some great saves. Okehampton were unfortunate not to add to their score as time ran out for them, resulting in yet another superb performance from the Okehampton ladies with the final outcome not going their way.

n This week Okehampton ladies are away to Exe 2.