A Positive Start for the Ladies 1s

The ladies kicked off their season with a tough fixture against Sheffield Hallam. The girls started with great tempo and motivation and held their own in the first half. Chester had the majority of the possession and were playing the ball around well, with strong defensive play from the back 4 and a couple of good saves from Kirstie Sneyd.

It was 0-0 at half time and again Chester came out fighting, with excellent press work from the forward line leading to a lot of high attacking play. Rhiannon Bowles drove the ball along the baseline to penetrate the D, using some superb skill to win a penalty corner. The straight strike was charged down aggressively by Sheffield however Laura Houlston was ready on the rebound to drive a perfectly hit ball into the back of the net.

Chester maintained the tempo and another goal came quite quickly after, with Sarah Mulligan connecting perfectly with a strike to make it 2-0.

Unfortunately the tiredness kicked in and Chester became more defensive and a stick tackle in the D led to a short corner which was cleanly slipped in.

With 30 seconds to go, Sheffield maintained their attacking pressure and were repaid by scoring in the dying seconds.

A good performance by the girls who were unlucky to not come away with 3 points.