Three for Jenna Hoey
On Saturday the ladies 2nds welcomed Owls 1sts to Comber leisure centre for the 2nd round of the plate. With owls playing 3 leagues above the Comber ladies they were prepared for a tough game and went into the start of the match with a positive mental attitude.
Right of the whistle north down kept good possession of the ball and started advancing up the pitch well, putting pressure onto owls defence straight away. With consistent pressure and hassling coming from Abbie Trimble on the left wing the defence weakened and a well timed cross into the circle found Jenna Hoey to open the scoring by a simple sweep in. This started the scoring spree and north down kept the pressure on, Natasha Adamson proving to be essential in a lot of the play had a goal mouth scamble with the keeper and couldn’t quite manage to get the last touch over the line but Ali Millar was on hand to ensure the 2-0 lead. Attacking play continued strong great play from left mid Brittany Hogan gained a short corner, the Comber girls used one of their regular plays with a strong slap out from Rebecca Brown to cousin Hoey who gained her 2nd goal from a fantastic strong strike at the top of the circle. North Down wasn’t going to let up yet and with Rebecca Mitchell-Cram having strong runs up the right side of the pitch laid the ball of for Julie Fisher to add her name onto the score sheet taking them into half time 4-0 up.
A lot of changes at half time for Owls let North Down know the play was going to change and straight away Owls finally began to put pressure down on the North Down circle for the first time and owls gained a short corner from their efforts. North Down however were quick out of the traps with 1st runner Karen Jackson stopping any straight strike Owls somehow managed to try and get a shot of but Karen Moore having a great game was on the post and achieved a great save of the line to keep a clean sheet. North Down began to move the ball up the pitch once again with Laura Campbell in the center switching the ball across the pitch to find Jenna Hoey who showed great skill dodging two defenders and managed to lob the ball on her reverse into the goal to beat the keeper, a great goal to finish her hatrick. The Comber girls found themselves back in the owls defensive circle once again this time the ball falling to Natasha Adamson and after her hard work throughout the game she finally get the goal she deserved to take the game well out of Owls reach giving a 6-0 lead. Owls didn’t let their heads drop and kept trying to grab a goal Rebecca Walker as always timed her tackles brilliantly, however a quick break into the circle allowed owls to gain a short corner which was going to be the last chance of the game, with a strike at the top, required quick reactions from Chrissie McKee who dived down to her right with a great save but unfortunately wasn’t able to get to the rebound so finally owls got a goal for their efforts. North Down seen the last minute of the game out to safely take them into the 3rd round of the plate with a fantastic 6-1 win and can take their new found confidence into the next round. Thanks to Gareth Bailie for umpiring.