| Sunderland 1 - Belper 1 (HT 1-1).
Scorer: Anna Toman 35c.
Team: Sabbie Heesh, Anna Toman, Anke Kozuch, Joanna Lane, Sophie Hawkins, Kerry McCollum, Alice Sharp, Jess Wood, Joanna Leigh, Alicia Robinson, Charlotte Hobbs, Rhiannon Rogers.
A battling performance by Belper, interspersed with no little skill, saw Sunderland slip to bottom place and the Nailers increase their advantage over their nearest rivals. With the earlier 3-0 defeat in October by the Wearsiders hanging over them and only a few hours outdoor practice since the end of November due to their successful indoor exploits, Belper anticipated the trip north and the re-start of the national league with some trepidation. Their fears were realised early in the game as Sunderland mounted a number of attacks and only poor finishing and Sabbie Heesh in goal allowed Belper to escape initial punishment. A couple of penalty corners on 6 minutes were also successfully repulsed.
After a quarter of an hour and having not conceded, Jess Wood and Alice Sharp in the Belper midfield began to achieve some measure of control and start to initiate a series of attacks on the Sunderland goal. Encouragingly, the last 20 minutes of the first half saw Belper put the Sunderland defence under increasing pressure with some fluid moves.
On 28 minutes, a skilful run by Joanna Leigh saw her reverse stick shot cannon off a post and back into play with the keeper beaten. Belper's belief that they were about to score was their undoing. A break through the middle was not closed down early, allowing Julie Hope to fire the ball past Sabbie Heesh with two minutes remaining of the half.
Undaunted, Belper redoubled their efforts and another mercurial run by Joanna Leigh saw Belper earn their first penalty corner on the stroke of half-time. Anna Toman's strike was swift and deadly and the ball rebounded off the backboard to tie the scores at 1-1.
The second period was almost all Belper, the penalty corner count to the Nailers being 7-0 as an indication of their superiority and newly-found confidence. However, Sunderland's defence was equal to all Belper's planned moves and open play shots by Kerry McCollum, Alicia Robinson, Charlotte Hobbs and Rhiannon Rogers all came to nought, the Wearsiders goal bearing a charmed life. Joanna Leigh received a nasty smack in the mouth from a loose ball but after treatment was able to resume and continue her tormenting of the Sunderland defence but to no avail.
After their initial uncertainty, the Belper back-four of Anna Toman, Anke Kozuch, Joanna Lane and Sophie Hawkins, produced a commanding second half to deny Sunderland any thoughts of another goal and also provide the platform for the constant series of attacking plays that Belper mounted.
Belper will be very disappointed to only take a point from the game after their barnstorming second half performance but in the light of the several narrow escapes at the start as they were coming to terms with outdoor hockey after a two month break, a draw may be the appropriate reward.
Nevertheless, other results ensured that the point apiece was enough for Belper to go two points clear of Beeston to consolidate their 3rd place in the England Hockey Conference League and for Sunderland to slip into last position, the automatic relegation slot.
On Saturday (1.30pm) Belper are at home to Sheffield Hallam, whom they defeated 5-1 earlier in the season. The Nailers will be looking for 3 points to boost their standing but the league is nothing if not competitive with 7 points covering the 8 teams residing between 3rd and 10th positions.
On Sunday, Belper Under 18s entertain Stourport HC from Worcestershire (2.00pm) in the 4th round of the EH Cup sponsored by the MAN Group. Fresh from their national indoor triumph at the TrentFM Arena at the end of last month, they will be determined to make further progress in the outdoor competition in which they are also the national champions. Belper hope to become the first club to achieve the indoor and outdoor double in successive years.
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