Senior 2: Club KV 2-2 DLHC 1XI
Donaghadee Ladies 1XI travelled to face fellow promotees Club KV under the Friday night lights, looking to secure vital points to further cement their standing in Senior League 2. In a match of two distinct halves – or rather, three-quarters to one-quarter – the visitors showcased their grit and determination before weathering a late storm to come away with a hard-fought draw.

From the opening whistle, Donaghadee looked the sharper of the two sides. Intent on stamping their authority on the game, the visitors were consistently first to the tackle and dictated the tempo for the first three-quarters of the match, with Donaghadee’s central defensive pairing of Megan Inglis and Natalie Jamieson picking off the attacks and the midfield trio of Shell Pearson, Helen Herron and Jess Moore snapping into 50-50s and coming away with the ball to give Donaghadee the platform required to put the home side under pressure.

This relentless work rate pinned Club KV back, subjecting the home defence to sustained periods of defence. The breakthrough eventually came courtesy of Jordan McWilliams, who showcased excellent striker’s instincts. After an initial shot was parried by the KV keeper, Jordan was the first to react, pouncing on the loose ball to fire Donaghadee into a deserved 1-0 lead.

With momentum firmly on their side, Donaghadee continued to press and soon found their second through a sweeping team move that started wide on the right thanks to a strong clearance from Kathy Sinnamon picking out Carolyn Scott with a ball down the line towards the halfway line.

The forward executed a superb, pinpoint cross-field pass that completely opened up the KV defence to find Katie McHenry in acres of space on the left. Showcasing great control and a very calm head, Katie collected the pass without breaking stride, drove into the attacking circle, and coolly rounded the KV keeper before slotting home to double the Dee’s advantage.

At 2-0 up, Donaghadee looked comfortable, but the unpredictable nature of the Dee’s season reared its head. With Jess off injured, Donaghadee required a shuffle of personnel and as they tried to regroup, Club KV hit their purple patch.

The home side shifted gears, forcing Donaghadee onto the back foot and winning a succession of penalty corners that heaped immense pressure on the Dee defence. Donaghadee goalkeeper Faith McMillen was called into action repeatedly, producing several crucial, acrobatic saves to keep KV at bay and maintain the two-goal cushion. Kathy turned a straight strike round the post to safety and Row Moore was also on hand to deflect wide.

However, the sheer volume of the relentless KV pressure eventually took its toll. In a frantic closing period, the home side managed to breach the Donaghadee defence, scoring two goals in quick succession to erase the deficit and level the tie.

While Donaghadee might feel a twinge of disappointment at letting a two-goal lead slip late in the game, the squad can take massive positives from their commanding performance for the first 50 minutes. Taking a point on the road against a fellow promoted side remains a solid outcome as Donaghadee continue to gather points towards safety in Senior League 2, with just 3 games remaining.

With thanks to Vicky O’Neill and Floss Patton who travelled with the squad as injury cover, a shout out to Faith for her Player of the Match performance, and thanks to the two Ulster Hockey umpires.

The 1XI are back in action this Friday night against Bangor at BGS with a pass back of 8pm.

Junior League 10: Bangor 1-1 DLHC 2XI
The first quarter was very end to end with both teams on the attack and in search of the first goal. The Dee back line of Floss Patton, Lisa Higgins, Angela Parker and Lauren Niblock were showing their strength and skill by cutting out any Bangor attacks and firing balls into the midfield for Jan Burgess to distribute wide to the wings.

Joey Patton was working hard in the centre in front of Jan to get the balls through to waiting forwards, Katie Mckee and Vicky O’Neill, and it was somewhat against the run of play that shortly before the end of quarter one, Bangor slotted home to go in to the first break 1-0 to the good.

The second quarter was much the same with strong attack and defence from both teams. Donaghadee’s keeper Janice McVeigh was on form, keeping the Bangor forwards out of her goal thanks to some vital saves. Just in front of Janice, Megan Inglis was firing balls from the back up towards Erin Hamilton, Caroline Davison and Emily Morris who were using their pace to run through the space with the ball.

In the middle of sustained Donaghadee attacking, a smashing shot from Jan rattled the backboard to equalise for Donaghadee and bring the scoreline back level at 1-1. The Dee continued to press with a couple of good chances thanks to some skilful runs from Ellen Campbell driving into the circle decent home defence meant Donaghadee weren’t able to capitalise.

Despite both sides carving out good opportunities, the two defences were also both on form and the game ended with no further goals. Final score 1-1.

Emily Morris was voted Player of the Match for her non stop performance of continuous running in both attack and defence, and she thanked Row Moore for umpiring. 

The 2XI have a week off before their final game of the season, at home to Limavady on 28^th March, pass back at BGS is at 2.30pm.