Senior League 3: DLHC 1XI 0-0 Kilkeel
In the first game of 2025 – and indeed a full month since the last match action – the 1XI of Donaghadee Ladies Hockey Club welcomed Kilkeel in a top-of-the-table clash at Bangor Grammar.
Donaghadee have led Senior 3 since early in the season but in the last match before the Christmas break when the two teams played down at Kilkeel High School, Kilkeel took the 3 points to bring them to one point behind Donaghadee.
Despite the long layoff both teams were up and at it from the first whistle, setting an early frantic pace that didn’t really let up; a speed which perhaps didn’t lend itself to the most free-flowing hockey from either side, with both teams looking to break down and attack quickly.
The visitors had the better of the possession in the first quarter, but the majority of the action was restricted to the middle half of the pitch: neither side managing to get a shot on target and both midfields working hard to cancel each other out.
Donaghadee got a much better foothold in the match in the second quarter, registering their first two shots on target, while Kilkeel enjoyed one penalty corner on target but the Dee defence was tight enough to prevent any other chances from open play.
Quarters three and four saw a bit more ebb and flow as the attacking players from both teams tried to gain the upper hand, and both had chances as the game became a little more stretched, but again, much of the action was outside the circles; neither keeper was overly threatened.
In a game that was finely in the balance for much of the afternoon, a draw was probably a fair result, with only the slimmest of margins between the two sides. Both teams take a point, with Donaghadee keeping that one point advantage over Kilkeel, and two above Club KV, Donaghadee’s next opponents in the league, at home on 1st February.
The next action for the squad is against Parkview in the Intermediate Plate, pass back at Ballyclare High School on Friday night at 7.45pm.
Thanks to Mike Smyth for umpiring on Saturday and to Red Leaf Kitchens and Interiors for sponsoring the 1XI match ball.
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