Plymouth Lions IV 7-1 Okehampton Hockey Ladies III

WHAT a day! With most sport cancelled due to the severe weather warnings, the Okehampton Ladies Thirds Hockey Team travelled to Plymouth.

Last week the four Okehampton ladies teams were reduced to three due to the number of players available. One of the roles of the thirds is now therefore to support young players just starting senior hockey, hopefully assisted by the grizzled veterans trying to keep up with them.

Therefore, the thirds were a team of 11 who had never played together before, several in new positions, and with an age range from 12 to 66.

The Plymouth Lions put Okehampton under pressure from the off but Okehampton rose to the task. Alex Collins (captain) played a blinder as centre half (she is normally top goal scorer) with effective tackling and accurate, powerful hits feeding Okehampton’s attack.

Meanwhile, behind her Kirsten Drake, Melanie Pike and Mel Priday fought hard in defence with brave work against some bruising attacks. The Lions opened the scoring but after strong work from dynamic siblings Megan and Zennor Tucker, alongside the ever-intelligent Viv Weatherington, it was levelled at one apiece courtesy of Viv.

In the second half, the availability of subs and largely younger legs of the Lions began to show their advantage over Okehampton. The wind and rain of Storm Bert picked up and Player of the Match Sienna Watts stepped in as goalie at the last minute, a first time ever in this position and made several impressive strikes.

Olive Leslie played a determined and skilful game at right half and gave Okehampton several chances to score. However, when the Lions broke through, goals started to flow, but the final score did not reflect the fun and the spirit.

Next up is a home clash with Dart III, on Saturday at 2pm.