HOCKEY: Carrick's McWilliams and Lynas on target in win over Limavady

But with their inconsistent away form always a worry for his team, Saturday’s game was by no means a foregone conclusion for Carrick coach Neil McConnell.

“On the road, we’ve sometimes come a cropper in the past even against lower-placed teams,” said McConnell, “so I was always wary of this fixture in spite of our recent good form. And as it turned out, we had every reason to be wary.

“Limavady gave us a much tougher game than their league position suggested and we only just managed to edge the result with a goal each from Natasha McWilliams and our player of the match, Rachel Lynas.

“I’m still very happy with our performance, however, as it proved we can dig deep when we need to and deliver a competitive win.

“With no disrespect to either Greenisland or Derg Valley, I was a little concerned that our big wins against them over the past two weeks’ might leave the girls feeling a little over-confident today.

“I needn’t have worried, however, as they quickly realised they had a fight on their hands, dug deep when they had to, and came out top in the end.

“But now we really need to move up a gear as our remaining five league fixtures are all against higher placed teams than us.

“And while there’s only four points between us and third placed Northern Ireland Civil Service, that will be a difficult gap to bridge given the quality of the teams we still have to play.

“Confidence means a lot in this business however and with three consecutive wins under our belts, I’ve absolutely no doubt the girls will be up for whatever comes our way and they’ll be determined to give a good account of themselves whoever we play.”

Carrick Player of the Match: Rachel Lynas