Petroc division one

KS Cougars 3,

Torbay 2

With two crunch games in a row, KS were playing Torbay in a top-of-the-table clash. With both teams level on points, the winning side would take position on top of Petroc division one and a clear three-point margin into the remainder of the season.

With a strong line-up and amazing support from the sidelines, KS were keen right from the start and immediately put Torbay under pressure.

Attacking the D at every opportunity, the Cougars were playing quick hockey into the danger areas.

Receiving high in the D and leading right to make an angle, captain Helen Symons fired her shot away on the turn, taking a deflection from a defender's stick.

With the Torbay 'keeper only able to clip the shot on the way through, the ball was heading over the goal line as Abi Bell was on hand to tap in to secure the lead for KS with eight minutes on the clock.

Back in the routine of scoring early and maintaining the press, KS were moving well down the right side as Emily Read drove forward to support Heather-Jo Webber.

Releasing Webber into space, her neat turn and drive into the D delivered a slanting cross which Rachel Roberts attacked low and deflected through the oncoming 'keeper's slide to take the Cougars 2-0 up with 17 minutes gone.

Torbay were playing hard through the centre of the pitch as Lou Read and Sarah Budgen received the brunt of the tackles, standing firm and countering well when possession was turned over.

With Torbay only creating a handful of chances, 'keeper Claire McIntosh was on hand to clear strongly when needed to protect the Cougars' lead, her fine performance in goal earned her the woman-of-the-match award voted for after the game.

With the majority of play driven by the inside forwards and halves, Nic Bowes covered all positions during a great performance as a utility sub to ensure legs stayed as fresh as possible.

Tess Morris took a spell at wide right and maintained the width that KS were using to pressure the Torbay defence.

Turning around at half-time, the Cougars know from previous experience that Torbay are a strong side on the comeback so KS looked to push for another early goal and shut down the game. 

Moving strongly with the ball in the early stages, KS began to deliver solid pressure around the Torbay goal and worked well to secure several upgrades in the D.

With their short corner routines improving all the time, KS came close to scoring several times until Symons' looping shot to the left post was volleyed home in style by vice-captain Bex Darke to take the Cougars 3-0 up with nine minutes gone in the second half.

Torbay stepped up and came hard at the Cougars after the goal; moving quickly through the middle they broke into the Cougars' D and demanded some solid defending from Fi Wadey, Claire Jones and Gemma Harvey.

They all looked solid in the block and low in the tackle to deny the visiting forwards, but Torbay continued to attack and forced some great saves from McIntosh before finally picking a rebound up and flicking home from close range to pull a goal back.

The Cougars eased up on their press a little for the next ten minutes which gave Torbay the opportunity to play at them, an opening of which they took full advantage.

Playing from a dead ball deep in their own half, Torbay used the extra space to drive the ball through the KS midfield and break quickly on to the Cougars defence.

Evading the tackles, a clever switch into the D created the shooting chance and the Torbay striker finished well to bring the score back to 3-2.

With fifteen minutes left the Cougars dug deep and re-established their close press on Torbay as Chloe Harvey and Bex Darke continued to deliver a phenomenal work rate in the inside channels, driving play forwards with strong runs and moving their markers well to create openings for the Cougars to exploit.

Symons came close to extending the Cougars lead with a smart shot from the back foot and Harvey saw her shot from a short corner slip just outside the far post as the clock counted down.

The final whistle blew on a game which saw a fantastic performance from the Cougars during the first half to establish an early lead which they then worked hard to protect despite a minor wobble midway through the second half.

Demonstrating quick passing throughout the formation, great movement off the ball, pressure and angles created in front of goal and rock solid 'shoelace' defending, KS showed all the elements of their game which now sees them sitting clear on top of the league with a three-point margin to defend.

The players would like to say a particular thank you to all of the family, friends and supporters who came along to cheer them through to a great win.

Crunch game number two is this coming Saturday when the Cougars travel away to take on Sidmouth and Ottery in the semi-final of the Devon Trophy.