Fylde Hockey Club round-up: Fifth team hit for six
Fylde Hockey Club’s ladies’ fifth team was their only squad in action last weekend as they faced Clitheroe and Blackburn Northern 3.
Although Fylde’s squad of 11 gave everything they had, their North West Women’s Division Four North (Central) match ended in a 6-0 defeat.
As anticipated, Clitheroe relied heavily on getting the ball through to a high attacker, who hung by the goal.
They scored a couple of early goals before Debbie McClelland and Dawn Perruzza became wise to their strategy.
The pair communicated well to intercept and deny Clitheroe many opportunities to penetrate the D.
Grace Lord and Leah Richmond worked brilliantly to move the ball back into Fylde’s attacking half, while Fran Loffler-Thompson managed the team well.
Despite those efforts, Fylde struggled to find the net against a strong Clitheroe team which started to make some co-ordinated attacks down the left.
Although Heather Appleyard had those covered and Emily Byers supported the backline, the first half finished with Fylde 3-0 behind.
The second half was a different game as Fylde started to create more opportunities when attacking.
Nevertheless, the Clitheroe defence held firm with Hollie Whiteside and Kayt Rayner both unable to finish.
Clitheroe’s counter-attacks were constant as they scored two more goals before their final effort came in disappointing fashion.
The ball blatantly hit the feet of a Fylde player, who confessed, before it then bounced onto the feet of another Fylde player.
They also confessed but, with the ball in free play, everyone – the opposition included – had stopped but the umpire then shouted ‘play on’ and the ball was pushed into the net.