Debutant’s goal secures point for ladies Junior hockey

Agustina Alvarez marked her debut with a goal as Canterbury Ladies drew 1-1 with Slough in the Investec Women’s National League Premier Division on Saturday. Alvarez and fellow newcomer Eugene Bianchi were both starting for the first time and they were joined in the squad by returning duo Anna Baker and Kirsty Greaves. The game brought together the two bottom clubs and it was the hosts who opened the scoring on 13 minutes, with a baseline attack finishing with a deflected flick into the side of the net by Kitty Baccanello. Canterbury responded well , with some good attacking play down the right hand side which resulted in a cross to Alvarez who finished on her reverse, lobbing the goalkeeper. In the second half, both teams battled for possession but neither seemed to make much headway or form many patterns of play. Ailsa Naylor, Canterbury’s player of the match, made some vital interceptions from the back. Slough pushed hard towards the end of the match as Canterbury struggled to keep possession, seeing a goal disallowed and two short corners flash past the post but the visitors held out. Canterbury remain bottom four points adrift of Slough and the University of Birmingham, who are their opponents in another key game at Polo Farm on Saturday (4pm). n The 2nds recorded a 3-1 home win over Norwich City 1sts with all the Canterbury goals coming in the first half. Harriet Williams opened the scoring with Laura Buttimer and Emily Beeny adding the others before Norwich – who travelled without any substitutes – grabbed a soft reply in a scrappy second period. Canterbury are now up to fourth in the EHL Premier Division. The 2As went down 5-2 away to Chelmsford 2nds in Division 1 South. Their goals came from Rebecca Ellis and Kate Jain. A battling performance in blustery conditions earned the 3As a 2-0 victory away to Burnt Ash 3rds in Kent Division 2. Pippa Griffiths opened the scoring after good work by Eirian Fox and Phoebe Neyton at a corner and Imogen Davis added the second before halftime. The win took Canterbury above Burnt Ash and out of the bottom two. Canterbury’s under-16 girls were in dominant form when they travelled to Tulse Hill & Dulwich in the Home Counties League. The visitors started well and led 2-0 inside 10 minutes through goals from Issy Mount and Hannah Harvey. By half-time it was 5-0 with Flora Brett, Tilly Tillings and Channice Marks all beating the home keeper. Tulse Hill came out strongly after the break creating four shots on goal, all of which were saved by Ashleigh Mennis. The storm weathered, Canterbury added four further goals, three of them from Tillings and the other, in the final minute when Sofia Basir struck from a short corner to complete a 9-0 win. There was a promising debut by Hannah Plommer. Canterbury now sit top of the league table and qualify for quarter-finals day on Sunday, February 24. n The under-14 girls went one better against Spencer with Evie Lewis and Poppy Ladd both hitting hat-tricks in a 10-0 victory. They struck from their first meaningful attack as Lewis pounced after an accurate pass from Sophie Wain and three minutes later, Lorna Forbes and Grace Patterson combined to create the second for Ladd. Player-of-the-match Chloe Plumb added the third from a short corner and by halftime both Ladd and Lewis had completed hat-tricks to move Canterbury 7-0 ahead. Canterbury added three more goals after the break through Patterson’s deflected shot and two slick short corners.