England call for schoolgirl Mason and full Fylde coast hockey round-up

AKS pupil Mollie Mason has been selected for the 2017 England Under-16 squad.
Mollie MasonMollie Mason
Mollie Mason

Year 11 pupil Mollie was included in the England Under-16 training group last year but now she has gone one better by winning a place in the final squad, a reward for all her hard work.

Mollie joined a sprint club to work on her speed, while also undertaking additional technique practice sessions.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Playing for the AKS senior team and for Fylde Hockey Club also helped Mollie to developed her individual skills.

After the final training camp over half-term, Mollie was named in the elite squad of 28. More training days are planned before Mollie pulls on an England shirt for the first time against the mighty Holland at Easter.

Mollie hopes to continue to impress and feature in matches against Ulster next month, as well against Belgium and Germany in July, when the season climaxes with the 6 Nations European Tournament in Barcelona.

n Lytham Ladies started like a bullet from a gun away to Longridge in North division two, racing into a 2-0 lead only to be edged out 5-4.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Heidi Williams and Jenn Rawlinson put in the legwork up front, with Becca Walker adding pace, as Georgina Read finished a goalmouth scramble for the opening goal. More defence-splitting teamwork ended with a perfect pass from Rawlinson, enabling Read to score again.

Keeper Hannah Shore defied a series of physical knocks, to perform heroically but Longridge hit back to lead 3-2 at half-time.

Both keepers made diving saves after the restart but it was Longridge who added two goals to move 5-2 ahead.

Lytham refused to give up as Livvy Hawtin and Hazel Cockerill won possession well, resulting in more chances.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Gilly Shields scored with a cheeky finish and Read converted a penalty stroke for her hat-trick.Lytham battled until the final whistle but ran out of time in this fantastic game.

Lytham 2 were 2-1 derby winners over Blackpool’s senior side in the battle of Lancashire Central division one’s bottom two at Ansdell Arena.

Blackpool took an early lead, though Lytham tightened up to keep them at bay for the rest of the first half.

The home side looked more of a threat after the break, with Hannah Beeby, Malley Parsons and Tia Pumphrey in fine form. Heidi Pearson equalised following excellent passing between Jasmine Wright and Georgia Perkins.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Lytham’s Lauren Lockhart made some good saves when Blackpool broke through and Becky Evans’ quick free-hit enabled Pearson to win the match with her second goal.

Lytham 3 lost top spot in division three when they drew 2-2 with Leyland and Chorley.

A poor first half ended with Lytham a goal down and Leyland doubled their lead within two minutes of the restart.

Solid play by Lily Ganchi and the strong runs of Lauren Gibbons enabled Lytham to level the match but they couldn’t force a winner.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

n Faye Knight’s first goal for Rossall Ladies earned a 1-1 away draw at Lancaster and Morecambe.

Fine passing resulted in Faye, who joined the club through Rossall’s Back to Hockey programme, opening the scoring after 15 minutes.

Both sides had chances in an end-to-end first half, though it remained 1-0 at half-time. The teams defended well in the second half, when Kaillei O’Flynn made some strong runs down the Rossall left, but the hosts equalised late on.

Excellent midfield play saw Tracey Housley named player of the match.

n Blackpool Ladies’ 2 worked hard but lost 2-1 at home to Lancaster 3 despite leading at half-time through Zoe Wardman’s shot from the left.

Related topics: