MATLOCK Baileans firsts' hopes of qualifying for the English Hockey League next season came to end after the Bank Holiday Weekend's play-off triple header in Bristol.
Having already drawn with EHL side Horsham and lost in Lancashire to UCLAN Springfields, Baileans began superbly with a 2-1 win over western qualifiers Lansdown.
Matlock weathered early pressure from Lansdown with keeper Fallon Harrison called int
o action on a number of occasions.
However, it was Matlock who took the lead after 25 minutes when a clever slip move from a corner was finished off by the experienced Sally Baddley.
Baddley increased Matlock's lead 15 minutes into the second half when she reacted first to a save by Lansdown keeper Kelly Bowden to skilfully lift the ball over the prone keeper.
However, Lansdown did not go down without a fight and Helen Wicks powered home a corner with eight minutes to go to put them back in touch.
But a 5-2 defeat against eastern side Holcombe dented the Midlands representatives’ ambitions.
After going 2-0 down, captain Nicola Martin pulled one back for Matlock, but by the time Leyanne Beacham had scored Baileans’ second, Holcombe already had their five.
In the final game, southern side Southgate also put five goals past Baileans, for whom Chloe Maynard got a 67th minute consolation.
However, there was more for Matlock to console themselves with as they were the only side to take points of Horsham, who secured their EHL place, with Southgate also moving from the regional to the national leagues.
The full article contains 262 words and appears in Matlock Mercury newspaper.
