Winscombe veterans finish third in Avon Masters tournament

Winscombe Ladies Veterans competed in the Avon Women’s Masters Tournament and managed to finish third.

First up were 16-times tournament winners Weare (a combined team of Weston and Redland) which saw Winscombe defend brilliantly to hold the opposition at bay for most of the match, conceding only one goal to some outstanding attacking play.

The second match in the round-robin tournament was against Clifton (aka Turnberry’s). This was a tense affair which ended in a flurry of excitement as Winscombe upset the status quo by converting a penalty corner right after the final whistle when Gail Izzard crashed home the winner.

The third and final match saw Winscombe line up against Westberries (aka Elderberries) who scored an early goal to take the lead. A clearance which hit captain and centre-back Juju O’Sullivan found Kelly Clark in midfield, who found Matthews to beat the keeper and tie the match.

Elderberries managed to take full advantage of a breakway to score the winner and to secure second place, beating Winscombe into third.

Winscombe Ladies 1st XI 1

Mendip Ladies 1st XI 1

Winscombe struggled to find their composure at times in this closely-fought match and were put under pressure by the visiting team.

Winscombe’s defence, Chloe Brown, Caroline Marsh and Charlie Philips worked hard to impede Mendip’s attacks and captain Kate Dennis made some crucial saves in goal.

The defensive trio also managed to instigate some good attacking play, linking well with the hard-working midfield of Imogen Marsh, Leanne Gardiner, Michelle Isgar, Kelly Clark and Holly Tyson.

Mendip were the first to score though after intercepting the ball and catching Winscombe off guard.

Winscombe continued to apply pressure and a lovely pass from Kelly Clark saw the forwards Hannah Coogan, Gabby Richardson and Sarah Holland link up well and were unlucky not to score.

Winscombe continued the high work rate in the second half, with some great surging runs from Tia Craig. Winscombe were finally rewarded with a goal after Clark’s strong strike on goal was initially saved by the Mendip keeper, but Hannah Coogan pounced on the rebound to score.

Winscombe continued to apply pressure and had many chances in the D, of note was Gabby Richardson’s amazing first time shot off a rebound ball, narrowly missing by a whisker.

Player of the match was Chloe Brown.

Minehead Ladies 1st XI 6

Winscombe Ladies 2nd XI 0

The seconds were well beaten at Minehead, going down 6-0 against a strong side.

Despite a bright start, it was not long before Minehead broke to score their first goal. Two more goals followed in quick succession despite some excellent defending from Amelia Bourton, Michelle Clarke-McCulloch and Claudia King.

Winscombe midfielders Lucy Kindred, Lucy Knapman, Hannah Preston and Ella Horwood worked hard, but could not put away their chances.

Claudia King saw an opening and ran the length of the pitch with the ball, passing it off to Vonnie Rendall in the D, but the Minehead goalie stopped them in their tracks. Minehead then broke to make it 4-0.

The second half started better for Winscombe with Cara Ellis running at pace and smashing the ball to forwards, Jasmine Honour and Tia Rendall, but the ball just could not find the net. Unfortunately Minehead scored two more with attacks down the centre to make the final result 6-0.

Player of the match was Claudia King.

Jaspers Ladies 2nd XI 2

Winscombe Ladies 3rd XI 3

The third team recorded their first league win in Brunel 2 against Jaspers.

Jaspers attacked constantly, but the solid defensive work of Jodie Honour, Sarah Johnson and Steph Osmant (making her 3rd team league debut) aided by two brilliant match winning saves by Georgia Tulip, meant that the midfielders and forwards could take their opportunities.

Winscombe’s first goal came through good work by Emma Whitehead and Isabel Morgan, who crossed the ball for Becky Matthews to slot home.

Faye Carney making her club debut worked well with Osmant, Anya Laurence and Gail Izzard to break up Jaspers attacks and make counter-attacks.

Early in the second half, Jaspers scored two goals in quick succession, before Winscombe replied when Helen Sinclair’s perfect injection resulted in Matthews claiming her brace.

Winscombe took the points from a last minute short corner when Sinclair injected to Matthews who slipped it to Carney to score the winner.

Special thanks to Vonnie Rendall who, after playing in Minehead travelled to Hanham to umpire, to ensure no player umpires had to forfeit their match.

Players of the match were Isabel Morgan, Jodie Honour and Steph Osmant.

Winscombe Ladies 4th XI 1

Minehead Ladies 2nd XI 2

Right from the outset, the intent from both sides was clear, with skilful, end-to-end hockey.

Debutant and player of the match Katy MacKay linked up well with Tors Look and Lynsey Lawrence, while Lauren Tyrell and Ella Hutchinson worked tirelessly to split the Minehead defence.

From a breakaway, Minehead confused the Winscombe defence and broke the deadlock, prompting the back line duo of Kat Dee and Flo Wring to step up.

Going into the second half, the pace of the game changed and Minehead took advantage of a loose ball to work round keeper Vicki Pagett.

Winscombe did not give up and through some hard work from Maddy Bawden and MacKay in midfield, Ellie Cooke pressured the defence to win several short corners.

This resulted in a well-worked routine converted by Lawrence, but Minehead held on to earn the points.

Winscombe Ladies 5th XI 2

North Somerset Ladies 2nd XI 0

This was the newly formed fifth team’s first win as a new team and they gave a solid performance.

From the first whistle, Lottie Gunter, Erin Crofts and Erin Watkins linked up well in midfield and with the experience of Gill Harvey and Sharon Morris, were able to demand a large portion of the play.

Libby Scott and Abbey Bewley looked dangerous on the break, while Winscombe’s goalkeeper, Debbie Ford organised her defensive line of Evie Puddy, Sophie Manning and Esme Dury well.

After the break, Watkins and Gunter continued to push forward and Crofts opened the scoring with a fine strike. Winscombe’s defence came under pressure, but with Ford making several strong clearances and Christina Ford holding her player at bay, they were able to control on the game.

Player of the match Michelle Ho, battered and bruised, did not give up and was unlucky not to score on her solo effort through from midfield.

Winscombe used their subs wisely and from a Harvey through ball, Isla Skudder was superbly placed to make it 2-0.

Standing strong, the whole team worked till the final whistle to maintain the score line and see out the win.