Hockey: Laura Thomas brace sets Huddersfield Dragons alight

Oct 21 2009 by David Lockwood, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

1
2
next

HUDDERSFIELD Dragons Ladies’ hockey team came out firing on all cylinders against Wigan and rediscovered the desire that has been missing in their opening three games of the season to register an emphatic 3-1 victory at Lockwood Park.

The win was underpinned by two excellent strikes from Laura Thomas, the first coming from a well-worked short corner.

At the opposite end, the defence were happy to have the experience of the previously injured Gail Gerrard back in the side and she worked hard to keep Wigan at bay, including saving all defensive short corners.

Amanda Sowerby had a plucky drive all the way into the D before half-time, making the score 2-0 from a reverse sweep that caught the goalkeeper off guard, and the story was the same in the second half as Dragons dominated.

Thomas scored from another short corner to seal the points, and although Wigan answered with a goal from a break, it wasn’t enough and the home team came away with the points.

Boston Spa & Acomb II 2 Huddersfield Dragons II 4

DRAGONS’ second XI beat bottom of the table Boston Spa and Acomb in a game that was packed full of goals, yellow cards and injuries.

Dragons took the lead from a penalty corner routine through McEwan, and scored again shortly after when Dexter set up Green for her first goal of the game.

Green scored her second and the team’s third from another penalty corner which led to Boston having a player yellow carded.

Dragons started the second half convincingly with McEwan, Hargreaves-Brown and Middleton linking up well.

But they became complacent and were caught off guard, which allowed Acomb to score.

Green suffered a shoulder injury before later hitting back with another strike to seal her hat trick.

Acomb broke away again late in the game to score again, but Dragons are now up to second in Yorkshire Division I, while

Huddersfield Dragons III 2 Huddersfield Kirklees 0

DRAGONS were on the attack from the start in this derby, but it took them a while to break the deadlock.

Their first goal came from a short corner, when Dunne flicked the ball into the back of the net after the keeper had made an initial save.

In the second half, Dragons were awarded a penalty flick after a Kirklees defender stopped the ball on the goalline with her foot, and Walters calmly placed the ball in the net. Player-of-the-match wasŠLucy Cannon, returning to the side after a six-year break.

Team: Creedon, Di Napoli, Smith, Dunne, Bates, Carter, Hamer, Walters, Bland, Clapham, Cannon, Thomas.

MEN

Huddersfield Dragons 5 Marton Furness 2

LOOKING to bounce back from an away defeat to Durham, Huddersfield faced more North-East opponents, but this time at Lockwood Park.

The game started at a high tempo and Jimmy Swinden, back from injury and making his first appearance of the season, didn’t take long to get back to scoring ways as he tucked away a rebound.

The Dragons created pressure for the remainder of the half with runs from Rob Kelly and Clem Gregory, but it wasn’t until the dying minutes that Swinden smashed in his second.

In the second half Huddersfield turned it on in their best performance of the season, man of the match David Pemberton being involved in a number of flowing passing moves supported by Keaveney, Lovatt and Buckley from the midfield.

Huddersfield got some reward for their excellent play when Hirst scored, poking in a Lovatt shot, before Marton Furness briefly got into the game, scoring when Huddersfield gave away possession.

However the Dragons hit back instantly with a passing move finished by Hirst, who flicked a low shot into the corner, and they ended the game with a carbon copy of the previous goal, this time Hirst playing in Fergal Keaveney to score.

Team: Howarth, Beatson, Swinden, Hannam, Gregory, Buckley, Pemberton, Lovatt, Kelly, Keaveney, Durrans, Austerberry, Hirst, Swinden

Bradford 0 Huddersfield Dragons II 3

THIS was Huddersfield’s toughest test so far against a well-drilled Bradford side.

The Dragons looked sluggish early on, not helped by the lightning quick pitch and smoke-filled air, but going into the break there was nothing separating the sides, Cowden keeping Bradford out with some fine one-on-one saves.

At half-time Dragons changed the formation, dropping another body into the midfield and it proved a shrewd move as the breakthrough came early in the half when Sugden pounced and fired home from five yards.

Dragons’ nerves, however, were only settled when the now prolific Haigh struck, again from a penalty corner, this time a straight shot leaving the keeper no chance.

And they capped a splendid victory when Foo watched his drag flick crash against the back board right on the final whistle.