Game 2 of Holcombe’s bid to return to the playoffs saw a comprehensive win away at a struggling Reading side.
Holcombe Ladies 1’s in their team huddle before a 5-2 win away at Reading HC.
Welcoming back Wales internationals Leah Wilkinson and Sarah Jones to a predominantly unchanged line-up saw the visiting side dominate the opening exchanges. Some dominant Holcombe outletting saw aggressive progression down the right-hand side from Emma Trunks and Jones, leading to early circle penetrations.
Mid-way through the first half, a re-awarded penalty corner for Holcombe was fired back to the injector, Eleanor Watton after a wayward initial injection. Her deflection from close range gave Holcombe a well-deserved lead from their early dominance.
The visitors continued to push forward and were rewarded shortly after.
A breakthrough from Watton saw her round the Reading ‘keeper before squaring to Jones who saw her effort saved on the line by the body of a recovering Reading defender. The subsequent penalty flick was converted by Captain Wilkinson to double the Holcombe advantage.
The home side seized the impetus and pushed hard to stay in the game. A series of penalty corners saw some brave defending from the Holcombe back line, with Captain Wilkinson suffering a heavy blow after putting her body on the line.
As the half wore on, Reading continued to create openings and were rewarded with a penalty flick of their own after the debutant in the Holcombe goal, Grace Lawes, playing against her former side, was deemed to have taken out the Reading forward in the circle.
With Emma Thomas converting from the spot, a tense final 10 minutes of the half were punctuated with a late Holcombe penalty corner. A slicker version of their previous routine resulted in the same outcome with Watton doubling her tally for the day to put the Kent side into the half with a 3-1 advantage.
An intermittent display in the second period saw Lucy Wood and Marianne Downer trade goals before Wood added her second to give Holcombe a comfortable away victory.
Speaking after the game, vice-captain Emma Trunks said; “We’re obviously very happy to get the win and with the result we did. We played some really good hockey at times but have to be more consistent across the whole 70 minutes.”
Next week, the side travels to Leicester on Saturday afternoon in a bid to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
NOW: Pensions Men’s National Premier League
Reading HC 0-3 Holcombe HC
Scorers; Holcombe: Ward, Field, Bandurak
Sonning Lane, Reading
Holcombe’s defence of their regular season title continued its’ perfect start on Saturday as the Kent side ran out 3-0 victors away at a strong Reading side.
Holcombe gather their thoughts at as penalty corner in their 3-0 win at Sonning Lane.
On an emotional day for all, Reading HC paid tribute to Ravi Ghowry; a stalwart of the club, passionate player, photographer and key member of the 1st team’s video staff who sadly passed away.
A fantastic turnout for the tribute paid between the men’s and women’s fixtures saw the two clubs come together on pitch to display some of Ravi’s talented photographs as a special display was set pitch-side for the game and a heartfelt speech given by Reading Player/Coach Andy Watts.
With Barry Middleton and Iain Lewers returning for their first games of the season for Holcombe, a debut was given to Aaron Cheema who has impressed throughout pre-season.
Reading started the game in the ascendency and pressed hard, making life difficult for the Holcombe side to settle. With chances kept largely to a minimal, Holcombe began to grow into the game and were rewarded as Sam Ward pounced on his own rebound to fire a reverse stick shot into the bottom corner and send the visiting side into the break in font.
The second half followed a similar pattern with some fantastic counter-attacking hockey from both sides being testament to the strength of both side’s structured defence.
Early in the second period, a blistering counter attack from the home side saw them go close, as the home crowd became more involved. From the subsequent 16-yard restart, the returning Iain Lewers threw the ball 70-yards down to the far corner where it was received by England and GB captain Barry Middleton in his first game of the new season. Middleton scurried along the baseline, beating 3 Reading defenders, before squaring the ball to Robert Field who converted from a yard for his first of the campaign.
Reading pushed men forward as Holcombe were content to sit and absorb the pressure. A Sam ward breakaway that narrowly saw an audacious lob fly just over the bar punctuated extended periods of Reading possession but Holcombe goalkeeper George Pinner remained largely untroubled.
Holcombe always looked threatening on the break and were rewarded with chances as the half wore on.
A stubborn Holcombe defence gave no quarter before, on the final play of the game, Sam Ward found Nick Bandurak just inside the Reading circle who fired a reverse stick into the roof of the net to wrap up the points and a strong, professional away performance.
Holcombe Manager Keith Martin praised his sides’ defensive tenacity stating “an excellent all round performance and a clean sheet has given us the ideal start to this season’s league campaign.”
Next week, Holcombe are at home to 2-time reigning Champions Wimbledon in a Saturday evening game at Holcombe Park.
Image Credit: Lawrence King
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