Hard earned points for ladies seconds
North Down ladies 2nds went back to league action with an away trip to Carrickfergus seconds last Saturday. With a positive performance the previous week in the Intermediate Plate they hoped to do much the same and come away with the three points.
Carrick started off the stronger of the two teams with players breaking behind the line of defence consistently and this led to them scoring an easy first goal. The Comber girls started to pick up the pace and won a penalty corner. The short corner team did a well rehearsed set piece with a strong push out from Rebecca Brown to Ali Millar with a switch over to Jenna Hoey who made no mistake to even up the score line. North Down kept the pressure up however a quick break away found the Carrick striker at the top of the circle on her own. Quick reactions from Natasha Morton in goals kept North Down from going behind again however there was an extended break in play as Natasha struggled to recover from the knock she took making the save. From the re-start within the North Down 25 the home team scored through a fluke deflection and the Comber girls headed into half time 2-1 down.
Starting the second half North Down knew they should stay positive and play their own game. Straight from the off great running on the left wing from Olivia Brown with a strong cross into the circle left Charlotte McKee with an easy slot in to goal again make the game an even affair. Carrick weren’t going to give up the three points easily and consistently had players breaking away however Rebecca Walker had her tackles timed perfectly and cut out their advancing play. Karen Moore then made ground up the pitch and sent over a perfectly timed ball to young Brittany Hogan whose first touch strike at the top of the circle rattled the backboards to put North Down ahead for the first time in the match. North Down kept Carrick under pressure with Amy Jones working tirelessly up front and winning short corners. From one of these, and using the same successful routine from the first half North Down added to their lead through Jenna Hoey scoring her second and the team’s fourth goal. The seconds played out the remaining 10 minutes with midfielders Sasha Bell and Laura Campbell keeping control in midfield and the Comber girls came away with a hard earned three points in a 4-2 win.