Chester’s Ladies O45’s played their first match of this season's cup last Sunday, having had a bye in the first round. An exciting new team was fielded with some playing in the O45's for the first time. The team looked great on paper and even better on the pitch.

Timperley were a strong team who do well every year in the cup so Chester were aware it was going to be a tough match. Chester were keen and up for the game and the pre-match team talk built on this and focused the team's enthusiasm. Within ten minutes it looked as though Chester had been playing together as a team for some time which saw them retain possession well. Against the run of play, Timperley scored the first goal of the game. Timperley had been playing well but had not quite as much of the possession. Chester did not let Timperley glow in this score line for long though, and when Chester were awarded a penalty stroke shortly afterwards, Martine Green stepped up and put it away. 1-1 on the score board.

The strong play from both sides continued and 10 minutes after Chester equalised, Timperley were awarded a penalty stroke. Karen Smith was in goal for Chester and was not fazed by this turn. She made herself look big in the goal and intimidated the opposition, who proceeded to hit the cross bar. 1-1 it remained and on that score line the teams went into half time.

Timperley had 2 more substitutes than Chester, the home team having suffered some pre-match injuries, and so kept the substitution turnover high to take advantage of getting fresh legs on the pitch. Chester soldiered on however, and continued to look strong and comfortable as the game went on. Often play was 2 touch hockey. Both sides had chances but Chester, with about 5 minutes of play left, converted a well worked penalty corner and Martine Green scored from a sneaky steal. Game over! 2-1 to Chester, who deserved the win and now look forward to the next round.

Match details

Match date

Sun 26 Nov 2017

Kickoff

15:00

Team overview