| Ben Rhydding 2 - Belper 3
Scorers: Ellie Green 23(f); Charlotte Hobbs 29(f); Gillian Boddy 32(f).
Team: Kathryn Bradbury; Sabbie Heesh, Joanna Lane, Rachel Sharp, Louisa Boddy, Sophie Hawkins, Ellie Green, Alice Sharp, Lucy Horn, Jess Wood, Alicia Robinson, Gill Boddy, Charlotte Hobbs, Anna Boyd, Sally Walton, Rhiannon Rogers.
Belper signed off their Slazenger National League campaign of 2007/08 with their eighth win since the mid-season break, achieving a relatively comfortable 3-2 victory against Yorkshire rivals Ben Rhydding. This win means that the Nailers finish in joint second place on 42 points with Nottingham Highfields and Liverpool Sefton but drop to 4th on goal difference.
With no promotion to aim for because of the league restructuring and everything cut and dried, the final game was going to lack a certain motivational aspect. Also the majority of the team were playing at Reading in an Under 18 Cup quarter-final the next day, so needed to save legs as much as possible.
Belper began brightly forcing four penalty corners in the first 15 minutes but could not make any of them count. Ben Rhydding secured their first on 15 minutes and their shot unfortunately looped up off Louisa Boddy's stick and over keeper Kathryn Bradbury to roll into the net to give them a somewhat undeserved lead.
Belper got back on level terms on 22 minutes when Alicia Robinson forced a save from the keeper with a clever deflected shot from a hard-hit centre and the rebound went straight to Ellie Green who made no mistake from close range.
Belper took the lead 7 minutes later when Charlotte Hobbs' hurried shot under pressure rolled in close to the post with the keeper off-balance on her heels.
Belper's third goal was by far their best and characteristic of this season's play. A swift, flowing passing movement after a turnover from the edge of their own circle between Lucy Horn, Alice Sharp, Ellie Green and finally Gill Boddy for her first goal since her return at Christmas, completely out-foxed the Ben Rhydding defence to put the Nailers 3-1 up.
Ben Rhydding got back to 3-2 on the stroke on half-time with another untidy goal at their 3rd penalty corner when the ball deflected up and bounced off the body of the Ben Rhydding stickstopper. Belper stopped, expecting the umpire's whistle as the offence was so obvious but none came and the ball ended up in the Belper net.
Belper had been well in control in the first half forcing 8 penalty corners to their opponent's 3. However after the break the game was more even as Belper rang the changes on the substitutions to rest players and this disrupted the flow of the passing. Belper managed only one more corner in the second half and Ben Rhydding's three efforts were also unprofitable.
Belper's League campaign has been in some ways disappointing and in others hugely encouraging. Cannock have strolled away with the title but Belper will possibly feel that their 4th place is an inadequate reward for their season's efforts. With England Hockey taking players away for international training camps and also scheduling Under 18 Cup games on National League dates, Belper have had to juggle their resources and play a number of matches with considerably less than full-strength sides. This therefore calls into question the integrity of the league and the final positions, when clubs are having to field under-strength teams and where results could affect promotion and relegation issues. Belper would undoubtedly have earned second spot had they been allowed their full complement of players on all occasions.
Second slot would have neatly shown Belper's advancement in the National League in the three seasons since promotion - 4th to 3rd to 2nd. However, given the situation at the start of the season with 8 of the previous season's first choice players unavailable for a variety of reasons, the Nailers can be well satisfied with the final result with their incredibly youthful team and the progress they have made both collectively and individually. |
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