Slough are rewarded for strong attacking display
Slough Hockey Club: Pink n’ Blacks clip Magpies’ wings to seal first win of the season
Slough HC ladies secured their first Division One South win of the season when defeating Harleston Magpies 2-0 at Upton Court Park on Saturday, writes Dave Wright.
A strong attacking display was rewarded with two first-half goals, but it then needed some stout work by their defence in the second half to retain their lead.
It took them just seven minutes to open the scoring with a penalty corner being quickly moved from right to left, where Briony Anyon was waiting to fire the ball into the net at the second attempt.
Harleston went looking for a quick reply, but the hosts defended well, with skipper Kat McGonigle making a goal-line clearance.
The Pink 'n' Blacks doubled their advantage four minutes before half-time when the quick-thinking Shona McNab lifted her stick over her head to deflect a penalty corner out of the reach of keeper Daisy Ford.
Slough deserved their first-half lead, but they were unable to relax at all in the second half with Magpies showing great determination to get back into the game.
They deserve a lot of credit for holding out which meant new goalie Daisy
Hacking was able to keep her first clean sheet for the club.
McGonigle said: "They (Harleston) were dangerous and had some good chances. We did well to see out the win.
“Over the 70 minutes, I thought we were the better team, although we didn't play as well as we could have."
Their player-of-the-match award was shared by Rebecca Ross and Betsy Parsons.
Slough are home again this Saturday (12.15pm pushback) to Trojans, which means they will be facing former player Amy Sheehan.
She was on target when the Southampton-based side defeated Surbiton 2nds 2-1 last weekend which was also their first win of the new term.
Slough Men crashed 4-0 at home to Staines, their third defeat of the row in the MBBO Premier 2 West.
This Saturday they are away to fellow strugglers PHC Chiswick, another side still seeking their first point of the season.