Six on the spin for super Oldham

GOALS . . . Karen Rowley

THERE is no stopping Oldham Ladies Hockey Club firsts in the Women's North Manchester League Division One South-West.

A sixth win on the spin - 3-1 at bottom club Bowdon - leaves the in-form side third in the table, a point adrift of Deeside Ramblers and Crewe Vagrants.

Exuding confidence, Oldham raced out of the blocks and were soon two goals to the good thanks to strikes from Rachael Johnson and Karen Rowley.

Central-midfield player Johnson had acres of space to run into as the Bowdon defence were seemingly preoccupied with the Oldham forward three.

She ran with the ball unchallenged for 15 yards and made no mistake from the top of the D.

Following good work from forwards Louise Howard and Yvonne Jackson, Rowley was the next to find the net as she hit a similarly venomous shot that the goalkeeper misjudged as it rocketed into the corner.

Howard should have done better when she won possession in the Bowdon D, but the keeper closed the angle and saved with her pads.

Having rarely threatened in the first 15 minutes, the hosts slowly began to make a mark on the game, but only had one shot of note in the first half which Sarah Simpson did well to save with her stick.

The Oldham backline were once again well marshalled by skipper and player-of-the-match Daisy May Ward, who appeared to have a telepathic understanding with fellow defenders Kasia Faulkner and Amy Broadbent.

After weathering a bout of Bowdon pressure just after the restart, Oldham delivered a sucker-punch.

Good build-up play in midfield by Jess Perry and Dannie Rawlinson found Rowley in the D. Howard took a touch off Rowley's lay-off before evading her marker to score in the bottom left-hand corner.

TAP-IN

Rallying, Bowdon won a short corner and a clinical move saw the injector score with a tap-in.

Next up for Oldham is Urmston at home on Saturday.

Team: S Simpson (GK), K Faulkner, DM Ward (C), A Broadbent, J Perry, R Johnson, D Rawlinson, R Blair, Y Jackson, L Howard, K Rowley, A Smith.

OLDHAM'S second team succumbed to a 1-0 defeat against their Didsbury Northern counterparts.

Captain Lisa Meanock played an attacking formation which saw the local side dominate the first half. However, they were unable to convert opportunities into goals.

A good team performance saw Oldham keep their rivals at bay. Player-of-the-match Sally Booth was strong and put in well-timed tackles.

After an encouraging half-time team talk, Oldham emerged in determined mood, displaying some great passing and well-worked moves.

Their efforts were to go unrewaded, though, as Didsbury grabbed victory from a late penalty corner.

Team: J Green, S Bratt, D Tindall, S Booth, R Barrett, G Jones, L McGuinness, L Meanock (C), J Perry, Y Jackson, L Bates, K Hargreaves.