Okehampton Ladies 3rds 4-0 Ocean City 4 Development Team

OKEHAMPTON took on a young development side on March 1, which gave a more level playing field for their own young players who shone, with Esther Payne winning player of the match.

Last-minute absences and injury made for a chaotic start for Okehampton but Kim Bland, who filled in for a short time, got the home side off to a good start when she scored from a well-worked penalty corner.

This settled Okehampton and they passed and laid off the ball with intelligence using the full width of the pitch. Zennor Tucker, Viv Weatherington and Mel Priday battled valiantly in the midfield with Mel going into attack to score her first goal for the team with a sweet reverse stick shot past the goalkeeper after a goalmouth scramble.

When Laura Venton entered the fray, coming on shortly before halftime, immediately Okehampton had more power going forward, linking up well with her fellow striker, Alex Collins, and a win never looked in doubt.

The right and left-wing backs Esther Payne and Kirsten Drake tirelessly ran up and down the flanks, with Esther chasing down every ball on her side and Kirsten putting in strong block tackles and clearing the ball effectively. Nai Oxborough controlled the centre as did Jen Humphrey who replaced her for a short time towards the end of the match.

However, it was by no means all one-way traffic and backs, Debbie Pritchard and Katy Graves, had to be alert and frequently intercepted the ball to snuff out the Ocean City attack. Izzie Gee, in goal, did not have an awful lot to do but she still had to make some crucial saves which she did in her usual measured way.

Alex Collins kept up her impressive scoring rate with two more goals from close range to increase the margin of a well-earned Okehampton win. Next up is a home game against Plymouth Lions 4 on March 15.