Garstang started well and had a very early goal on the post disallowed for a foot in the D. Their pressure again told after six minutes with a good scoring chance for Gemma Trickett. Garstang were passing quickly and accurately and were moving at pace. They were clearly the better team. Gemma Trickett had another scoring chance in front of goal when Ali O’Donnell hit across the D to her. Gemma dived and just missed contacting the ball. After sixteen minutes Keiry Horne hit the Lymm keeper hard with a shot from a pass by Gemma. Three minutes later Keiry’s raised shot was also saved by the Lymm Keeper. A goal seemed inevitable but it just would not come. Lymm started to come back in to the game but Garstang’s strong defence stood firm. Rhiannon Byrne-Bowles stopped a Lymm shot on the goal line and hemmed in by attackers passed it across to Donna Richardson who ran forward to clear the ball from the D. After twenty-four minutes Gemma Trickett won a penalty corner for Garstang and her shot from the top of the D was cleared by a well placed Lymm Keeper. The game became end to end. In defence Garstang’s Donna Richardson with Livy Cottam, Rosie Atkinson and Lyndsey Norton snuffed out a number of Lymm attacks at the top of the D. Garstang ended the half winning a penalty corner and in the aftermath Gemma Trickett again hit the Keeper’s pads with a shot on goal. The half ended with Garstang confident but surprised that with a least five good chances they had not scored.

In the first minute Lymm won a penalty corner. Keeper Sarah Hart saved the shot well and Donna Richardson cleared to the side. Stung to action Garstang made three really good attacking runs and ramped up a couple more near misses on goal. After eight minutes they won a penalty corner. Donna struck the ball really hard from the top of the D to Minnie Rogers outside the right post and she made a high deflection just inside the post to beat the keeper (Donna Hird wisely knelt to get out of the way). Garstang at last had the lead they deserved. Encouraged by the break through Garstang went on the attack for the next twenty minutes. Great attacks up the right wing and through balls by Livy Cottam plus runs forward by her and Rosie Atkinson dominated the game. Nevertheless, Lymm defended well against the tide and their Keeper stood firm. Garstang won a penalty corner and then a repeated corner but wasted their chances. For the last ten minutes of the game Garstang seemed to lose their positional play and a gap appeared up the centre of the pitch for Lymm attacks. The team became very nervy, spilling the ball under pressure and an Lymm encouraged attacked hard. They won a penalty corner with five minutes to go but Garstang’s stalwart defenders were again excellent. With only two minutes to go the Garstang Keeper Sarah Hart made a good save to seal the 1-0 win.

This game showed Garstang play their best hockey of the season with passages of really good quick attacking play at pace;- coupled with a strong defence. But it also showed the same nervous passages as last week and this was compounded by some uncertain play in the centre late in the second half. The team is making progress and will now challenge most in this top NW Division.

Author + Photo: Charles Jackman