Disappointing Draw for Ladies Firsts Against Ballyclare

The first XI ladies got back into league action on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Ballyclare at Comber. The first half was a hard fought battle between the two sides with both desperate for the win to get points on the table and the majority of the action was in the middle of the pitch with neither team able to break the deadlock. North Down had a number of chances on the break but the Ballyclare keeper did well to protect her goal. Ballyclare also had chances from penalty corners but the North Down defensive corner team stood strong and kept them out with Bethan Brittain stopping one on the right post. The home team failed to dictate the first half as they had hoped and came off at half time with the score still 0-0.

The second half started with much of the same but after some time North Down started to pick up the pace and gain some momentum. They pressurized their opponents but couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. Over commitment of players on the attack allowed Ballyclare to break when they won the ball back on the half way line. They took this opportunity and got the first goal of the game halfway in to the second half. A shock to the system for the home team who worked hard to retain possession of the ball and push on for the equaliser. Olivia Brown created a number of chances on the left as did Tasha Adamson on the right. Finally, North Down equalised from a penalty corner that was slipped right to Rebecca Mercer for her to put it past the keeper. The last ten minutes was a hard contest between the two teams. The final chance of the game came when North Down were awarded a penalty corner as the final whistle blew. Unfortunately this time, Mercer’s shot was deflected over the cross bar for the game to finish 1-1.