HOCKEY: Coleraine win tight encounter

In a tightly contested battle, it was Coleraine who were most impressive in the final quarter of the pitch. Despite a lot of pressure and near misses it took Coleraine 25 minutes to get onto the scoresheet. A penalty corner variation seen Zoe Purdy latch onto a pass from Helen Tweedie and sweep the ball confidently past the Dromore keeper who had done well until now to keep the scores level.

A confident Dromore defence and a well drilled midfield meant that Coleraine were always under threat. However any attack in the circle was dealt with ably by the Coleraine defence. Milenka Rygielska in particular belied her young years in central defence with a performance which earned her the Player of the Match award.

The second half seen great build up play down both the right and left from Coleraine with Sharon Kennedy and Kelly Watt in particular linking up well to mount numerous attacks down the right hand side. That elusive second goal however kept a bit of pressure on Coleraine. With five minutes left on the clock, an extended period of Dromore possession was dramatically cut short when Grace Bradley picked up the ball at the halfway line and used her pace down the left flank to outrun a series of Dromore players and in probably the best goal all season, she fired the ball from a tight angle past the in form Dromore keeper to seal the game for Coleraine.

Coleraine Threes took on Dromore Fours in the league on Saturday. Coleraine started strongly and won a penalty corner, unfortunately Dromore managed to clear the danger.

Five minutes before half time a quick clearance by sweeper Fee Cully to Emily on the left wing was placed for Tori on the run who, despite loosing her footing, found the net from an acute angle as she fell.

Dromore drew level in the second half, but Coleraine didn’t lie down and edged in front again from a penalty corner thanks to a first time strike from Tori.

But they were pinned back again as Dromore levelled the game up. Coleraine weren’t to be denied though and Tori grabbed her hat-trick before the end from a long corner routine.