Spurs see off Juniors to maintain hockey league lead

Spurs defeated Juniors 1-0 to retain their lead in hockey’s Association Rosebowl league, while there were also wins for Burra, Delting and Zetland.

Association Rosebowl

Zetland 2, Burra 1

Zetland started very strongly with a lot of pressure put on the Burra defence, which paid off in the ninth minute when Aimee Keith scored a lovely goal.

Burra got the equaliser just two minutes later with a great strike from Josie Jamieson which was slotted home by Kayti Jeromson.

Burra put pressure on the Zetland defence with some great linked passing between Karen MacKelvie, Josie and Kristan Robertson, fighting hard for another goal, but a combined effort from Lara Jamieson, Ailsa Sinclair and Dawn Anderson saw off the threats.

Zetland in return put pressure on Burra with Stacey Gardner and Indyia Bradley working well together, the first half ending 1-1.

The start of the second half saw both teams fighting for more goals. Aimee and Shona Keith worked tirelessly in midfield for a break but Burra’s Andrea Henderson kept them at bay.
Josie, Kristan and Sarah Young battled hard to put Burra in front but it was Zetland’s Maisie Unsworth who scored the winning goal 22 minutes into the second half with a well-taken short corner.

In a very even game best for Burra was Kirsty Halcrow for her strong defending while Dawn Anderson stood out for Zetland.

Spurs 1, Juniors 0

Juniors started with an excellent display of passing and movement. Spurs found it harder to settle and soon Juniors were dominating the pitch.

The Juniors forwards were a constant threat but they could not convert their efforts into a goal. Towards the end of the half Spurs were pushing forward and this led to their goal just a minute before half time when Lara Thomason found the backboard from a rebounded shot.

The second half commenced with a confident Spurs team making continuous attacks in the Juniors half. The Juniors found it difficult to push up the field and in only the last 10 minutes did their hunger for a goal become more prominent. However, any attacks were thwarted by Spurs and the game ended in their favour.

Players of the match were Ashley Burgess for Juniors and Rona Simpson for Spurs.

Burra 5, Whalsay 1

Burra were sharp and focused from the first whistle and this paid off with an early goal from Kristen Robertson. This boosted Burra’s confidence and they maintained control of the first half, with further goals from Josie Jamieson, Stacey Laurenson and Julie Keith.

Whalsay regrouped at half time and began to pressure the Burra defence, looking to reduce the deficit. After a few unlucky attempts which saw Jamieson hit the post twice, Natalie Polson latched on to a through ball and got one back for Whalsay.

This was not to be Whalsay’s night, however, and Julie Keith got a fifth goal to give Burra a good victory. Players of the match were Josie Jamieson for Burra and Dianne Shearer for Whalsay.

Delting 1, Juniors 0

The game began with Delting fielding a neat 11 while Juniors possessed a plentiful supply of substitutes. There was a quick pace from the word go, as both sides made good use of their players on the wing.

Delting looked dangerous throughout, with Julie Kirkness, Linda Gunn, Megan Nicholson and Kerry Burgess making some good runs forward, but Rhiannon Inkster, Debbie Robertson and Lara Kay proved a very strong defence, and saw off the early attacks.

Juniors kept on replying by making advances on the Delting goal. However, Jillian Copland, Jill Hibbert and Janetta Williamson stopped them from gaining the lead. A break in the Juniors defence saw Julie Kirkness pounce on Jill Hibbert’s crossed ball into the box to take Delting 1-0 up. Both sides continued to push each other until the half-time whistle.

The second half saw Juniors start strongly with their substitutes providing fresh legs. Their forwards pressurised the Delting defence but Delting soon turned the play around and kept pressing constant attacks on the Juniors.

Brenda Leask demonstrated excellent play in the centre while Julie Nicolson and Kerry Burgess connected well on the left to provide a steady delivery of balls into the Juniors box.

Lorraine Johnson and Jill Hibbert did the same on the right, but Jessica Bradley looked confident in the goalmouth and stopped Delting from furthering their lead, despite excellent shots from Linda Gunn and Julie Kirkness.

Juniors had a very significant breakthrough nearing the end, with fantastic play from Zoe Irvine and Bethany Laurenson resulting in the ball entering the Delting box, but a frantic scramble in the goal mouth saw Toni Sidgwick eventually clear the ball out of danger. Delting kept the ball firmly in the Juniors half from then on until the final whistle.

Players of the match were Janetta Williamson for Delting and Debbie Robertson for Juniors.