Ruthless Ashby Defeat Impressive Leicester Fives

- By Gaynor Nash

After two good games yielding four points, it was back to earth with a bang for the Fives against high flying Ashby Seconds on Saturday 22 February.

Early exchanges were relatively even, with Aleena again looking assured in the Leicester goal. However, parity was not to last as Ashby capitalised on a little loose marking to take the lead. 20 minutes in, Ashby extended their lead with their centre-forward notching two near identical goals, sweeping home from a ball to the penalty spot each time.

To their credit the Fifths fought back, winning three penalty corners in succession. From the third, Gaynor’s flicked effort was parried by their excellent 'keeper, but the lively Lydia was on hand to force the loose ball into the net. The reduced margin didn’t last long as Ashby added a fourth before half-time when the unfortunate Rosemary could only divert the ball into her own goal.

The half-time talk was positive as we were definitely competing and asking questions of their defence, we just needed to tighten up at the back.

They came out of the blocks well in the second half and Aleena made a smart double save to keep it at 4-1. She was powerless to prevent a tap-in for 5-1 and their centre-forward drove into the circle and unleashed a powerful shot for  her hat-trick and a 6-1 lead.

We had two good chances at their end but their 'keeper again foiled Joy and Lydia. Ultimately, Ashby’s seventh was a near carbon copy of an earlier goal, Hazel getting to a shot only to see it deflect off her leg into goal. They rounded off with a well worked eighth goal. Ashby judged Lydia to be our Player of the Match.

Whilst conceding eight goals isn’t great the performance didn’t reflect in the scoreline. Our two youngest players, Olivia and Lottie, are really settling into adult hockey. Next week we travel to Market Harborough to play their Seconds.

Final Score: Leicester Fives 1 - 8 Ashby Seconds

Squad: Aleena, Olivia, Lottie, Rosemary, Hazel, Jane, Helen (c), Gaynor, Neelam, Nisha, Aman, Joy, Lydia, Millie, Issie