Jenna Hoey hat-trick as good run continues!
North Down continued their good form with a very convincing 8-1 win over bottom of the table Club KV.
The first quarter saw North Down dominate possession and within the first three minutes Jenna Hoey found the back of the net for the first goal of the game. The Brown sisters controlled the centre of the pitch creating lots of space for Selina Lewis to drive into the circle where the ball found a KV foot for the first penalty corner to be awarded, a good hit from Alex Boyd made its way into the goal. North Down continued to cause havoc in the KV circle with another three penalty corners awarded. A switch right at the top of the circle found Alex Boyd who calmly slotted the ball into the net to make it 3-0.
North Down continued their dominance and within the first five minutes of the second quarter Rachael Murphy won a penalty corner which Lauren Brown converted to make it 4-0. Kerry Long attacked down the right, beating her player with ease, a through ball found Selina Lewis who drove hard into the circle slipping the ball to Murphy on the back post but was unable to convert, Bethany Burrows picked up the loose ball, but the KV keeper was ready and cleared the ball wide.
The third quarter began slowly with North Down losing shape and not giving simple passes, KV’s youthful squad couldn’t get past the solid defence with Rachel Mornin putting in strong tackles to win the ball back. Mornin passed the ball right and found Caitlin Taylor with lots of space, Taylor slipped the ball to an unmarked Hoey in the circle but unfortunately the ball went wide of goal. North Down won another penalty corner but nothing was to come of this. Lewis continued to dominate down the right-hand side driving into the circle for a pass back to Murphy who put the ball wide of the keeper. Burrows made a fine pass into the circle which rebounded off the keeper, Murphy gathered the ball up and made sure it went into the net to make it 5-0.
The final quarter began with North continuing to put pressure on the KV defence. A through ball found Murphy who crashed the ball past the KV keeper. North Down won a further two penalty corners but could not convert. Olivia Brown made no mistake in driving the ball into a KV foot inside the circle to be awarded yet another penalty cornerand Jenna Hoey slotted the ball past the keeper. A lapse in concentration saw KV in North Down’s circle for their first short corner of the game. Goalkeeper Bartha made a great save however the umpires deemed it to be a stick tackle, so a penalty stroke was awarded, KV took this well and scored their first goal of the season. With five minutes of play remaining North Down continued their dominance as Olivia Brown linked up well with Burrows on the left who drove into the circle and again found Jenna Hoey unmarked who crashed the ball into the back of the net for her first hat- trick of the season.
Burch Autos Player of the Match was Lauren Brown