Saturday saw East Coast ladies 1XI look to bounce back and secure another win.

The first half started well, and good link up play from Charlotte Bond, Amy Vallis and Jess Bond, saw Jess pull her defender wide, drive round the back and plant then ball on the defenders foot winning a penalty flick for the team in blue. Katy Hands stepped up and with a cool head, placed the ball cleanly in the back of the net.

East Coast then saw some pressure from the opposition with a few crash balls making their way through the home teams press resulting in Christchurch equalising.

East Coast were quick to respond with confident strong passes, working together in triangles down the left, saw Hattie Bowden, Charlotte Bond, Jenn Pilbrow linking up picking the Christchurch defence apart finally finding Amy Vallis who slipped the ball under the keeper to put the home team back in the lead.

Some frantic defending at the end of the first half saw the home team give away a short corner, and eventually a foot on the line led to a flick for the opposition, who took full advantage and pulled the game back to 2-2.

The second half saw East Coast begin to settle into their own rhythm and play some excellent hockey. Ellen Sherwood and Laura Gell worked tirelessly down the left hand side of the pitch, whilst the defence of Alex Bond, Hannah Nunn and Emily Firmin stepped up and ensured that Christchurch did not break through, protecting our keeper Kate Bond.

A series of runs stretching the game down both the right and left hand side of the pitch saw multiple short corners, through which East Coast pulled out all the stops and managed to bury the ball in the back of the net with Jenn Pilbrow getting the touch to give East Coast the lead again.

The final 5 minute saw East Coast continue to pile on the pressure, with driving runs into the D winning more short corners, this time seeing Charlotte Bond add to the total.

In the final minutes of play, another short corner won, saw Jenn Pilbrow again deflect the ball into the net to put the icing on the cake for the home time and a final score of 5-2.

Player of match: Katy Hands