Lytham St Annes hockey round-up: Four goals for the firsts
Lytham St Annes Hockey Club’s ladies’ first team started their new season with a 4-0 win against Garstang’s seconds.
They began strongly, displaying lots of different skills and tactics which had been worked on in training to outwit Garstang’s midfield and defence.
A number of chances were created before Lytham took the lead when Frankie Beeby collected Mia Wood’s pass and drove into the D to score.
Lytham pushed to double their advantage, winning back possession and applying pressure to create short corner opportunities.
That eventually led to Beeby’s second goal, which gave Lytham a 2-0 lead at half-time.
The second half saw Niamh Melling make some fine saves to keep out Garstang before a number of short corners at the other end saw Beeby score twice more.
There was defeat for the seconds, however, as they went down 2-1 against Preston’s thirds.
Lytham started well against a strong Preston side who put them under pressure from the off.
Preston were set up very professionally and eventually broke down Lytham with some strong attacking play before a short corner led to their second goal.
A half-time reshuffle put Lytham in a strong position moving forward, Gemma Prestwich pulling a goal back.
Although Lytham were unable to equalise, their hard work and learning meant they could come off with their heads held high.
The men’s first team got up and running with a 4-3 win at Preston’s fourths.
Having pressured their opponents from the start, Lytham went 2-0 ahead thanks to Andy Copeland’s double before a scramble saw Preston pull one back.
Another moment of chaos enabled Preston to equalise, only for Copeland to restore Lytham’s lead and complete his hat-trick.
Not satisfied with three goals, Copeland then added a fourth before Preston managed to score again late on.
The seconds picked up a 1-1 draw when they played against Keswick’s thirds.
Lytham started promisingly, absorbing early pressure and forcing the Keswick keeper into some good saves.
They eventually took the lead with a drag flick which was deflected in by a Keswick defender.
Keswick equalised in the second half, which ended with honours even as good goalkeeping denied a Lytham team who had a number of scoring chances.