Ladies County Match Reports

Ladies Senior County Championships

Midlands Zonal Round - Meole Brace - Sat 28 April 07

Saturday saw Shropshire hosting the Midlands Zonal Round of the Ladies  County Championships with a place at the National Finals the prize.  Shropshire opened their matches against Staffordshire and the game finished a 0-0 draw despite some valiant efforts in attack from Lucy Ratcliffe and Jenny Cullen. They then had a rest for two games as  Combined Services drew 2- 2 with Herefordshire and Combined Services then beat Staffordshire.

Shropshire then took to the park as the temperature started to rise and played Herefordshire. The home side seem to go through a purple patch as they conceded two quick goals. Sarah Lewis replied for Shropshire as the score was 2-1 at half time. Shropshire started the second half with more passing play but conceded a short corner to lose the match 3-1 - lapses of concentration to blame and also being reduced to 10 players for a while as Emma Harper received a dubious yellow card.

Shropshire had a quick break and we back on the  pitch to take on the Combined Services; this was a much improved match for the county side as they eventually lost 2-1 with Lucy Ratcliffe scoring for the county. Cheryl Lawson made some great interceptions in defence and Jenny Thompson worked hard throughout the day.  Staffordshire beat Herefordshire in a gripping final match meaning that Combined Services went through to the finals.

The support of Norman Stott and Gilly Cross as Technical Directors on the day was much appreciated by players and officials. Meg Ballment, coach for the county, said 'I was pleased with the team  spirit we generated and our professional approach during the day. We had a moment in the Herefordshire match that let us down but the squad  recovered well to play some good hockey against other teams which included many National League Players. It was great to get the squad together to represent Shropshire in Shropshire.'  

Picture:-  Back: Flo Edwards (Assistant Coach), Jo Satterthwaite-Shuttleworth, Jen Thompson, Lizzie Siese, Sarah Ralphs (Captain), Chez Lane, Cheryl Lawson, Emma Harper, Lucy Ratcliffe.  Middle: Laura Weaver, Lisa Davey, Sarah Lewis. Front: Sarah Gaskill (Manager), Jenny Cullen, Becky Machin, Zoe Mortimer, Tracey Royle, Lisa Jenkins, Meg Ballment (Coach).