Petroc division one

Teign 2s 0,

KS Cougars 4

The Cougars made a long journey to Dawlish last Saturday to play their final match in this year's Petroc division one league.

Looking to protect their undefeated record, KS started well in the opening 10 as the ball was moved swiftly around the field by both sides, with Teign looking like a very different side from the one that lined up against the Cougars before Christmas.

Struggling to connect their usually slick close passing, KS made hard work of the first half as the Teign 'keeper made several key blocks under pressure to keep the match all square.

With a pick up in pressure towards the end of the half, it fell to Budgen to pull a lovely reverse turn on the defender before firing home from top D to put the Cougars in front with 28 minutes gone.

The Cougars regrouped over the break and brought the focus back in for their last 35 minutes in Petroc one, restarting the second half with the extra 10 per cent coach Ash Wyeth asked for.

Passes started to click as the Cougars improved their movement off the ball and looked much more dangerous in the attack.

Helen Symons dug in with a great spell to bring some fire to the attack as KS broke in numbers to play Laura Simmons in on goal, only to see the first few chances denied by some good goalkeeping.

Vice-captain Chloe Harvey found the space in the left channel as KS attacked from both sides with captain Nic Bowes driving in hard from the right to deliver some great balls across the face of goal.

Soaking up another Teign clearance, KS broke quickly on the counter. Having been denied once Simmons was taking no prisoners as she angled the 'keeper and slotted home to take the Cougars 2-0 up with 52 minutes gone.

With Teign still threatening in possession a huge turning point came as they found space in the D to engineer a blistering shot towards the bottom right corner.

Pouncing like a true Cougar, 'keeper Jones pulled a blinding stick save from the bag, diving low and steering the ball outside the post to protect the KS lead.

Spurred on by the save the rejuvenated Cougars took the upper hand for the remainder of the game as both sides traded blows in a quick, end-to-end contest.

The breakthrough came on the switch as Symons slipped to Lou Read, who fired towards goal; with the 'keeper getting a touch, it was Simmons on the hunt for the rebound who scored.

With the clock counting down and with the Cougars still looking dangerous, Tess Morris volleyed home on the bounce to wobble the ball past the Teign keeper and see KS run out 4-0 victors.

The Cougars would like to thank everyone who travelled to watch their final league game and celebrate the promotion with them, even if their hair is the wrong colour for the upcoming trophy final!

Over post match teas Sarah Budgen narrowly beat 'keeper Claire Jones and striker Laura Simmons to the woman-of-the-match award.

Closing out the league with another victory saw the Cougars finish the season as undefeated champions with a record of played 20, won 18, drawn 2.

With an unrivalled defensive record, KS only conceded eight goals in the league while scoring 90 to earn their promotion into the South Division for next season.

A training weekend follows before the Cougars travel to Okehampton as defending champions to play Dartmouth in the Devon Trophy final on April 12, looking to round off the perfect season and retain the title – the team would love to see some local support on the sidelines.