Hockey round-up: Super display puts ladies in quarter finals
MILTON Keynes’ ladies were in England Hockey Vase action and comfortably beat the University of East Anglia 4-0 to book their place in the quarter finals.
Having already played one close game on Saturday, MK were looking for a much easier victory in this game, and they got just that to seal a last eight clash away to Wilmslow Ladies in Cheshire on March 11.
Right from the off MK took the game to UEA and immediately put them on the backfoot – playing some superb passing hockey they took control but saw several goal scoring opportunities go begging in the early stages.
However, their patience paid off when they took the lead through a well-taken goal from captain Sophie Reynolds. And with player of the match Laura Browne instrumental in carving out numerous attacking opportunities, the home side doubled their lead moments later with Reynolds firing home a second.
The defence of Sarah Lowry, Steph Bates and Dee Davis had to remain fully focused to deny the visitors a way back into the game as MK let their standards slip slightly going into the half time break as goalkeeper Laura Pellington-Woodrow was forced into making a couple of saves.
But they soon got back to their best in the second half, stretching the game to their advantage, and a perfectly placed cross into the D by Issy Morgan enabled Reynolds to deflect the ball home for her third of the afternoon. And there was still time for a fourth goal courtesy of Karmel Bracken.
The ladies’ 1sts had previously seen off Wycombe on Saturday thanks to a single Reynolds goal.
Milton Keynes’ men were left frustrated after failing to make their chances count in a 1-1 draw against Sevenoaks.
After a two-week winter freeze break, the men made the trip to Kent and soon found themselves under some pressure. But resolute defending allowed them to gain some control in the game and soon they started to move the ball about with purpose and consistency.
The game was flowing from end to end but both teams lacked the composure in and around the ’D’ to claim the first goal of the game. MK remained strong all over the pitch and went in at half time having done a lot of running to keep the score at 0-0.
The second half was a lot more open with chances falling at each end. It was turning into a game where the team that wanted it the most was going to come away with a win.
Five minutes into the second half the home side found themselves down to 10 men. This gave MK hope and they took control of the game, moving the ball with pace and accuracy as Sevenoaks found themselves under increased pressure.
Sevenoaks were back to full strength, but MK kept up the pressure and found themselves a goal ahead when Andy Van Der Pedo crashed a ball into the D where Brett Holland was on hand to deflect it high into the roof of the net.
MK didn’t sit off though and continued to press forwards to score a second killer goal. But opportunities went begging and typically Sevenoaks went straight up the other end and scored to level the game.
The men’s 2nds suffered 1-0 defeat to Maidenhead while the 3rds thrashed Oxford 7-1 with hat-tricks by Matt Darvell and Neil Hutchins, and one for Dom Tyler.
The men’s 4ths went down 3-0 to OMT Baabaas – despite best efforts of man of the match Tom Fung – and a Will Luther goal gave the 5ths an incredible 6-5 win against Staines. The ladies’ 2nds saw off Gerrards Cross 5-3 and 3rds beat Witney 3-0.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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