Hockey: Cardinals & Wildcats Win
In the first game of the day at the National Sports Centre on Sunday [Mar.11], Swallows lost 5 – 0 to the Cardinals.
Inspired by a 2 goal lead at half time, courtesy of Denise Downey and Pier Simons, Cardinals closed out Swallows in the second half with a further 3 goals from Caroline Gledhill, Candy Foggo and Rebecca DeAlliie.
The Wildcats/Ravens match up is always a competitive one and it took some 21 minutes before the first goal was scored after plenty of great end to end field play displayed by both teams.
After several rebounds from a short corner routine, Susanna Almeida was finally able to slip the ball past the goalkeeper to give Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Some crucial defending from Cara Johnson, Kristen Alexander and Sue Ward proved exasperating for Wildcats who, despite being awarded a further 17 short corners throughout match, were unable to convert any of them. However, 5 minutes into the second half, Wildcat Ryce Trott set the pace and used her extraordinary speed to penetrate the Ravens defense and netted their second goal.
Eva Dillas rounded out the scoring when she converted a penalty flick awarded late in the second half. Despite some valiant attempts on goal by Amber Port and Katie Tester, Ravens were unable to find the back of the net and the game ended with the Wildcats winning 3 – 0.
