Hockey: Ballymoney held to draw by Queens - and rue disallowed goals

Not so this week as Queens walked away from the match with a point. The one all draw was a turbulent affair and Ballymoney were denied on several occasions due to controversial decisions. The decisions went both ways however and queens converted their opportunity well. The match started with the sun over head and it was Ballymoney who got off to a bright start- the first half saw them win a handful of penalty corners. The queens corner team stayed strong however and conceded nothing.

Queens had a few runs into the Ballymoney half threatening the defence but Lauren steen, angie Huey, gayle Adams and Susie sneddon combined to keep them out. The game changed on the 24th minute when a penalty corner strike was stopped on the line by the body of a queens player. The resulting penalty stroke was coolly put to the back of the net by Susie sneddon. Going into the second half one nil up Ballymoney continued to attack, but so to did queens who started to gain a bit of ground and fight themselves back into the game. Sammy Jo was called into action to make a few saves in the Ballymoney goal. Ballymoney then had two goals disallowed following a period of pressure in the queens half. Queens then got a goal to equalise. Ballymoney look forward to their next match to gain further ground in the league.

Match Report- Ballymoney 2ndXI

On Saturday 13th of October Ballymoney 2ndXI travelled to Lurgan to play their third match of the season.

With the ecstatic feeling after the win last week still fresh in the memory, the Toon ladies were looking to begin their attack on the Lurgan side. The game started with Ballymoney stealing possession keeping Lurgan on their toes during the first ten minutes. Unfortunately a lack of concentration by Ballymoney resulted in Lurgan scoring. The game continued to be played with momentum, the forwards regularly found themselves in acres of space beating the defenders for pace left, right and centre, sadly numerous scoring chances were missed. As the half time whistle blew the score was 3- 0.

Ballymoney ladies started the second half with the required aggression and a display of some fast flowing hockey. The Toon ladies worked tirelessly all over the pitch looking for the final connection to convert. Piling on the pressure, Ballymoney played great attacking hockey with well linked balls between the midfield and forwards, creating scoring opportunities As the match came to a close, the final score was 3-2, with goals from Katherine Minihan and Laura McCurdy.

We would like to thank our coach Diane Kirgan and Rob Harris for umpiring.

Team: Caitlin McKane, Sarah Reid Lesley Davis, Clare Parkhill, Kate Ruddock, Alex Halliday, Lauren Mullan, Katherine Minihan, Laura McCurdy, Karen Watson, Cathryn Knipe, Olivia Kearney, Becky Webb.