| Match Report |
North Devon HC 1st XI maintained their unbeaten start this season with a 4-1 away win to Ashmoor HC 2nds on Saturday.
The early stages of the game were fairly even, Ashmoor looking to press high and force errors from the visiting team. North Devon adapted well and looked to counter attack. They took the lead after a quick break from Joe Taylor-Richards who took the ball to the top of the circle before passing to Ash Thorne, whose shot was saved, only for Pete Smale to bundle the rebound in.
Ashmoor then put some sustained pressure on the North Devon defence who dealt with it well until an unforced error by Mike Cuthbertson led to a penalty corner. The first shot was blocked by Ben Andrews and then cleared by Reuben Windley.
Perhaps the pivotal moment of the game came when the Ashmoor forward stole the ball at the top of the circle and with time to pick his shot unleashed a fierce strike seemingly heading to the roof of the net. Goal keeper Phil Daniels had other ideas and pulled off an incredible save with his right arm to deflect the ball wide.
To make things worse for Ashmoor, North Devon took a quick restart fed the ball out wide to Phil Brand who won a penalty corner. A slick move between Giles Rowden and Ben Andrew saw the ball played into the far post for Smale to tap in for his second.
The score remained 2-0 at half time, after the break Ashmoor continued to play structured hockey and eventually got a goal after a nice move leading to the ball being passed round Daniels.
North Devon reacted well and continued to press, Ashmoor struggled to cope with the pace and passing of Joe Hastie and Sam Kirkness in midfield. Some rash tackles and dissent towards the umpires saw them playing with 10 players for much of the second half.
North Devon took advantage, a third goal came from another break from Taylor-Richards whose first pass was saved by the Ashmoor keeper, the rebound was picked up though and passed to Smale who deflected the ball in.
There could have been further goals for North Devon, with Taylor-Richards and Thorne both missing after breaking free. Eventually the fourth was scored with an excellent finish from a narrow angle by man of the match Sam Kirkness.
There was still time for Daniel to make a smart save at his far post from an Ashmoor strike but in truth the result was way beyond doubt.
Four wins out of five games sees North Devon sitting second in the league behind Okehampton HC. Next week they are away to Exeter based Isca 3rds, 1.30 pm start at Exeter University.
|