Junior League 9A: DLHC 2XI 0-1 Harlequins
The 2XI of Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club stepped out on possibly the windiest day of the season so far to face Belfast Harlequins at Bangor Grammar last Saturday.

The first quarter saw both teams finding their place on the pitch and Donaghadee’s defence was called into action after an early shot from Harlequins along the goal line but which was guided effortlessly away by keeper Janice McVeigh to ensure the visitors did not take the lead. 

This quarter saw numerous excellent breaks from both teams but importantly, left back Lisa Higgins was not ‘left back’ in defence but quite the opposite as she found herself hassling Harlequins defence high up the pitch, culminating in a good shot which unfortunately, just went wide. Shortly after Harlequins countered, breaking through the Donaghadee midfield only to find Georgia Ferguson cutting across the pitch in  defence to intercept the Harlequins attack to ensure the quarter ended 0-0.

The second quarter saw the attacks from Harlequins coming thick and fast and an early shot on the edge of the circle was superbly deflected by Zoe Turtle and returned up the pitch as the Dee looked to turn defence into attack. With Quins turning over the ball, they earned a penalty corner from a Dee foot in the circle. On this occasion the straight strike from Harlequins was successful and evaded Donaghadee’s defence to bounce off the backboard to end the quarter 1-0 to the visitors.

Coming into the second half Dee had the wind at their backs and in one early attack, Caroline Davison hassled the Harlequins right back to make space for Katie & Molly McKee to fly up the wings and into the circle. Piling on further pressure, Emily Morris won a penalty corner with a well-taken strike by Emma McGimpsey-Young but unfortunately for Donaghadee, they were unable to breach the Quins goal line. A final break of the quarter saw Erin Hamilton and Row Moore work hard to turn defence into attack as Donaghadee looked to equalise but the quarter ended 1-0 to Harlequins.  

The fourth and final quarter saw Donaghadee facing an onslaught from the Quins attack with Tasha McGimpsey putting in a cracking tackle on one occasion and tireless teamwork saw Donaghadee stand firm to ensure no more goals were conceded. Unfortunately there were no goals at the other end, so the final score was 1-0 to Harlequins.

This week’s start player for the Seconds was Georgia Ferguson. Thank you to Nicola for umpiring and all supporters. The Seconds are away to Saintfield with a 1pm pass back on Saturday and all support welcome.

DLHC 1XI 2-0 Newry
The 1XI were next on the bill at BGS when they welcomed Newry. In a match which Donaghadee dominated, a Leanna McGimpsey-Young double secured the three points to leave Donaghadee in a solid fourth at the halfway point in the league programme. The Firsts play again on Friday night when they travel to Larne to take on the team top of Senior League 3.

Jon Scott Memorial Match
The club was honoured to have been asked by Bangor Hockey Club to attend the match organised in memory of Jon Scott on Sunday. Members of the club who attended were delighted to present a copy of the DLHC centenary book to Jon’s wife, Alison, as Jon features in it thanks to his umpiring for Donaghadee for a number of seasons before his untimely passing.