Senior 3: DLHC 1XI 1-3 Castle
It was a top-three clash on Saturday, with third-placed Donaghadee sitting just one point behind Castle in the league table before pass back. Castle were boasting an impressive 40 goals for, and only one against going into this game and while Donaghadee have been tucking the goals away righty themselves so far this season, coach Willie McAdam was under no illusion as to the task ahead.

Donaghadee were able to line up with a fairly attack-minded starting 11, with Jess Moore and Laura Jackson providing plenty of pace on the flanks as the team looked to begin brightly. Castle were equal to the pace, and both teams traded non-threatening plays as they felt each other out in the early stages. With Jordan McWilliams and Helen Herron working hard in midfield to nullify any early attacks, neither side was able to make any serious inroads on goal, despite the ferocious pace!

An early penalty corner earned by Castle in the first quarter was well pushed away by Dee keeper Nicola Patton, with central defender Jodie Ingham mopping up the immediate danger to clear the ball well wide. Kathryn Cunningham also played her part in the centre of defence, carrying the ball well beyond the circle in a couple of important interventions as the first quarter wore on. 

Having weathered the initial storm from the visitors, it was in fact Donaghadee who took the lead early in the second quarter when Carolyn Scott smashed home from a penalty corner, much to the delight of the large contingent of Dee supporters on the sideline. 

With Donaghadee pressing – and creating another two good chances from open play – Castle took advantage of a penalty corner of their own to draw level as the half was heading to its conclusion to leave the score 1-1 at the break, and no real inkling of which way the match was going to swing.

Following a nasty clout to the hand, Jess was replaced by Row Moore, as Donaghadee began to find themselves under increading pressure at the back. With much of the play occurring in Donaghadee’s half, captain Jan Morrow rallied the troops as they looked to close the visitors out. Castle won a succession of penalty corners with one, despite forcing a great save from Nicola, being put away at the third attempt to give Castle a 2-1 lead.

Donaghadee countered quickly, with Paige Reilly acting as the pivot between defence and attack, with Donaghadee earning another penalty corner – this time unfortunately too close to the keeper who swept the shot gladly aside. 

With Donaghadee pressing in search of the equaliser, Castle consolidated their attack with another string of penalty corners, one of which deflected up off a stick to hit a very well-positioned Rachel McClatchey on the goal line. Such is the life of a hockey defender that not only do you suffer the misfortune of having to style out getting hit on the upper body, but you also give away a penalty stroke for good measure!

Despite Nicola getting within a hair’s breadth of saving the resulting shot, the ball was sufficiently well placed into the side netting that it just evaded her outstretched stick to give Castle a 3-1 victory in a game that was much closer than the final score line suggests.

Carolyn was voted Star Player for her tenacity up front, and she thanked Mike Smyth for umpiring. A week off for the team to recover and rest before back in action at home on Saturday 18th November.

Junior League 9A
The 2nd XI travelled to Ballynahinch on Saturday with the two teams sitting side by side in the league table, with only 2 points separating them. Having started the day with a full team plus a sub, it came as a bit of a shock to find that the Dee actually only had 10 players available when they turned up, putting them on the back foot from the first whistle. 

Hastily rearranging the team formation, Captain Floss Patton and her defensive partners of Claire Horne and Laura Hamilton had a difficult opening quarter as the home team started brightly, forcing keeper Faith McMillen into some early saves, but she could do nothing about the opening goal which snuck past her outstretched leg from a penalty corner.  

Although 1-0 down and one player down, the Dee girls began to settle into the game in Q2, using the free space to switch the ball from left to right in an attempt to stretch the opposition and draw them out of position. 

With Lisa Higgins playing an unfamiliar role sweeping in front of the defensive line, she was able to feed her wide midfielders, Erin Hamilton and Johneena Brown, who were fighting hard to progress the ball upfield and support their forwards. There were some glimmers of hope for Donaghadee, including a penalty corner which came close to an equaliser following a great strike by Molly McKee, but the keeper was up to the task, and the score remained the same at halftime.  

Whilst it was never easy going in the final two quarters, with the Hinch girls threatening the Dee goal on a number of occasions, the determination and team spirit shown was superb. Time and again Molly and her forward partner, Emily Morris, picked up the ball deep in their own half when helping out the defence and carried it the length of the pitch to relieve the pressure and create chances at the other end. 

The longer the game went on, the greater the territory and possession enjoyed by Donaghadee, with Lauren Niblock keeping the pressure on and the ball in the Hinch half with some great tackles and blocks which prevented them clearing the ball. In spite of a run of PCs and long corners in the final quarter, the equaliser just wouldn’t come for the Dee, and the game finished 1-0 but each and every girl was proud of their performance and effort on the day, and we learnt a few important things:

• Faith’s pads and kickers squeak like an umpire’s whistle, which was great for confusing the opposition while we played on!
• Molly and Emily ran for miles and miles and miles – I suspect their fitbits gave up counting their steps after a while!
• Feed Lauren half time sweets, and she becomes a cross between the duracell bunny and manic cheerleader – in a good way!
• Claire’s growing confidence proved she can make it over the 23 metre line without getting a nosebleed;
• And finally, the team was capable of producing a great show of strength in adversity.

With a well deserved week off, the seconds are next in action at home to Castle on Saturday 18th November. Well done to Lisa Higgins for being awarded the star of the match this week and thank you to those who supported from the sidelines. 

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