Ladies 3rd XI Vs Sidmouth & ottery 3

Okehampton 3 – 2

Sidmouth & otttery 3 - 3

This match was always set to be evenly paced with both teams sitting in the middle of Petroc 2.  Okehampton had first push back and immediately started to put the visitors under pressure.  Midfielder, Eleanor Marvin, used her speed to drive the ball up the wing and pass forward to Sarah Bazeley, who was waiting to drive it towards the D.  However, the opposing defenders did not make it easy for the home side and they defended strongly.  The first half saw competitive end to end play.  Captain, Viv Weatherington, expertly picked up any stray balls, passing the play onto Sophie Tripp who made several strong runs into the opposition’s D.  Okehampton then won a short corner which was swiftly converted into a goal by Sophie Tripp – just rewards for her perseverance.

At half-time, the score was 1-0.  However, the visitors came back after the break with renewed determination to find the backboard.  They put the Okehampton defence under great pressure - Izzy Rowlands and Sarah Marvin, playing in holding midfield positions, frustrated many attempts by the visitors to get near to the D.  Defenders, Hannah Woodhams and Lois Rowlands stuck tight to their attackers, preventing them from seeing very little time with the ball.  When the visitors got into the D, experienced goalkeeper, Carol Newman, made several crucial saves – putting her diving training into practice.  Unfortunately, this did not prevent the visitors from managing to score 2 goals and taking the lead. 

Undeterred, the Okehampton attack stepped up a gear.  Midfielder, Maddie Davison, used her speed to pounce on any loose balls and regain possession for Okehampton.  Annie Strawbridge then earned her man of the match vote by picking up the ball at the half-way line and making the most of the lack of opposition players ahead of her.  She charged the ball down into the D and slickly struck the ball into the goal.  The score was 2-2.

Again, the visitors piled on the pressure – Sandy Houston, managed her defenders well and the midfield players quickly got themselves back into the D to help see off the attack.  Izzy Rowlands kept the score even by strongly stopping a ball on the goal line and ejecting it from the D.  However, the visitors managed to find the goal and went ahead with only 2 minutes of the match remaining.  Okehampton attacked with all the energy they had but, unfortunately, could not even the score line.

Next week oke 3rds travel to Dawlish