Leyland and Chorley 6 South Lakes 2

SOUTH Lakes hit the road full of confidence, but hit the bottom of Northern Hockey League Division Two North West after defeat at Leyland.

The previous bottom side found their form to claim a first victory of the season and extend the winless run of their visitors to four matches.

South Lakes were hopeful they might come away with the points, however the hosts had a very different view on the matter.

Leyland were 2-0 up within the first 10 minutes, using their experience to capitalise on any loose balls in the South Lakes D.

The away team tried to bounce back from this early disappointment.

Emma Armstrong and Natalie Knowles worked hard to create the space up front for Emma Reid, Rebecca Cook and Angela Thornton to feed the ball through and exploit the gaps behind the Leyland defence.

One such ball made its way through and Knowles got the last crucial touch to take the score to 2-1.

However, despite the heroic defending of Cat Cooke, Hannah Swainson and Rebekah Nuttall, ably supported by Gayle Mawdsley in goal, Leyland squeezed in another two goals before the half-time interval.

At the opposite end, South Lakes were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when a Leyland defender appeared to have stopped the ball on the line with their foot.

Moments later, Holly Nuttall had a goal disallowed when a Leyland infringement was pulled back following the advantage being played.

Knowles almost claimed her second when she just missed a touch on the right post, but it was Leyland who went into half-time on the up.

Suze Armstrong and Holly Nuttall dug in hard in the second half and mopped up a great deal of pressure from the home side.

However, balls kept sneaking into the South Lakes D and the Leyland forwards forced another two goals.

The visitors kept battling and Knowles claimed her second of the game following a swiftly-taken free-hit outside the D.

They continued to fight hard, but it was all in vain and the score-line remained 6-2 to the home side.

South Lakes players recognised the hard work of Reid and Swainson on their seasonal league debuts, and voted them joint-players-of-the-match.

Still seeking their first points of the campaign, South Lakes are at home to Lytham on Saturday (12.30pm push-back at Ulverston Leisure Centre).

Anyone interested in joining South Lakes or taking part in women’s or men’s training sessions, can find more details at www.southlakeshockeyclub.co.uk