Delting out in front in race for senior hockey’s Shearer Shield

Two good wins by Delting, against Scalloway and Spurs, put the Brae team in pole position in senior hockey’s Shearer Shield competition.

Shearer Shield

Scalloway 0, Delting 3
An experienced and fired-up Delting applied instant pressure on Scalloway, whose defence worked fantastically well to compress the attacks and press on the Delting ball carrier.

Great communication from Cyndi Pottinger and Christine Georgeson in goal kept the Scalloway side organised at the back. Brenda Leask dominated play in the central midfield, keeping Scalloway’s Michaela Johnson and Sarah Groat on their toes.

Under a barriage of constant pressure Scalloway worked well to keep the ball out of their goal until the 23rd minute of the first half when Linda Gunn sneaked into the top of the circle and made no mistake, slotting the ball into the bottom left corner.

Scalloway, undeterred by the goal, continued to work well to get the ball out wide to Kate Moncrieff. She made some threatening runs towards the Delting defence and linked up well with Vicki Henderson and Rowan Nicolson but with Delting’s strong defence of Inkster and Blance Scalloway were forced into the hard options every attack.

With two minutes remaining in the first half Michelle Stark stepped up for Delting to take them into half time with a two-goal lead.

Scalloway started the second half positively, knowing that they were forcing Delting to work hard and play good hockey.

Left defence Mel Inkster thwarted a number of Delting attacks, feeding the ball through the centre of the park for Henderson, Milne and Nicolson to work with, but with Scalloway missing that crucial striker they struggled to find the back of the net.

Midway through the second half Toni Sidgwick, who had proved a menace all night to Scalloway, linked well with Julie Kirkness who finished off Delting’s third goal of the night 18 minutes into the half.

Scalloway were happy in the knowledge that they had played well as a team, were organised and had made life hard for Delting.

Players of the match were Mel Inkster for Scalloway and Brenda Leask for Delting.

Burra 1, Whalsay 2
Both teams showed great determination right from the start. Burra made some early breaks but the Whalsay defence coped well and it was they who opened the scoring through Nicola Duthie after seven minutes.

Whalsay continued to put pressure on the Burra defence with Maggie Irvine and Zoe Irvine linking up well in midfield. Burra’s back four stood strong throughout with captain Julia Halcrow playing a vital role.

The second half began much the same as the first with some fine hockey on display and end-to-end play. Helen Fullerton in the Burra goal and Shona Moncrieff in the Whalsay goal were forced to make several crucial saves for their teams.

After seven hard minutes of the second half Angelina Jamieson got her name on the scoresheet for Whalsay.

At 2-0 down Burra now had to work very hard to try and make a comeback possible. The whole Burra team took it up a notch which resulted in them winning a short corner. A good set piece and a lovely strike from Stacey Laurenson saw Burra get the ball in the goal but the referee’s decision ruled against.

Burra continued to fight hard which resulted in a goal from Megan Halcrow with three minutes to go. The pressure remained on Whalsay but Burra unfortunately couldn’t find an equaliser.

Maree Simpson was Whalsay’s player of the match for her solid defending and numerous great runs up the park, while Vicki Anderson stood out for Burra.

Delting 1, Spurs 0
Spurs took the first pass back and quickly applied pressure on Delting with some good linking play from Ava Sim, Emma Inkster and Rona Simpson.

Delting dealt well with the early pressure and worked hard to create their own chances with some good play from Julie Crossan, Jillian Copland and Nicola Blance in midfield.

Julie Kirkness worked tirelessly up front and was unlucky not to convert when a strong pass from Toni Sidgwick was played into the circle. Both teams battled with some great end-to-end play but the first half ended with in a 0-0 draw.

Some tactical changes saw both teams determined to break the deadlock in the second half. Again strong play was evident in both teams, Morag Fox making some great runs for Spurs while Jill Hibbert gave Delting an added boost up front.

Spurs were unlucky not to score when Simpson flicked the ball towards the Delting goal, forcing Karen Jarvie to make a fantastic save.

The battle continued until Delting were awarded a short corner. Spurs defended well but the ball fell to Michelle Stark who made no mistake in placing the ball into the back of the goal to seal the match. Players of the match were Rhiannon Inkster for Delting and Ava Sim for Spurs.