Harrogate Hockey Club Ladies 1st XI bounce back from heavy loss with a hard-earned point

Lucy Wood shone for Harrogate Hockey Club Ladies 1s as they played out a goalless draw with Durham University 2s. Picture: Gerard Binks

The Ainsty Road outfit were soundly beaten in West Yorkshire in their previous outing, though they produced a far more resolute display when they entertained the students on Saturday afternoon, managing a first clean-sheet in six Vitality Women’s Conference North matches.

“We showed great character and team spirit to bounce back from the previous week’s 6-1 defeat at Wakefield,” team manager Mandy Lee reflected.

"It was a hard-fought, intense match between two well-matched teams and there was some skillful hockey on display.”

Durham arrived in Harrogate with a much-changed line-up, one that has had time to settle since Lucy Wood and her team won 3-1 up north earlier in the season and enjoyed the better of the first quarter.

Home goalkeeper Coral Langridge was required to make the save of the match early on, deflecting a drag-flicked short-corner around the post with her stick during this period.

While the quick, well organised visitors hassled and team tackled, ‘Gate eventually gained the ascendancy and went on to apply the majority of the pressure for the rest of the afternoon.

Player of the match and skipper Wood showed some dazzling skills, prompting the hosts’ best chances with Harriet Payne, Julia Corominas and Katy Blyth all going close to breaking the deadlock.

But, with a lot of the play taking place outside of the circle and Harrogate unable to quite find the killer pass required to unlock the away defence, they were unable to find a way through.

Durham did look threatening on the break on occasion, however Celia Allen put in some great tackles to snuff out any possibility of them nicking a late winner against the run of play.

That result means that Wood and her team-mates remain in seventh place in the Conference North standings ahead of their trip to second-placed Timperley this Saturday.

‘Gate will, of course, be expecting another tough test, but know that a victory over in Greater Manchester will cut the gap between the two sides to just three points.