Premier division 2B

KS Cougars 3,

Newquay 2

After a solid preseason warm up, last Saturday saw the Cougars re­turning to league hockey in their first Prem­iership match against Newquay.

Having secured back-to-back promotions over the last two seasons, KS were keen to test themselves against new opposition.

Warming up on what felt like a summer’s day the scorching weather set the scene for the match that was to come.

Looking to make a hard first impression, both sides went at the game at full speed.

KS were the first to look dangerous as they broke into the New­quay D with five minutes gone and upgraded well for a short corner.

A slick injection from captain Chloe Harvey gave Laura Kerly time to smash home a great strike to give KS the dream start on their premier debut.

Momentum swayed between the sides for the next ten minutes as KS looked to build on their lead and New­quay looked for an equaliser.

With 26 minutes gone KS centre half Lou Read picked up a short yellow card suspension and KS battled through with 10 until her return, where she continued to dominate the centre of the field.

Despite being a man down KS reshaped and strong spells from Sarah Budgen, Fern Tucker and Abi Bell kept the workrate at 100 per cent during the cover period.

With Newquay still attacking at pace a quick break across the Cougars D saw an attacker go down as she slipped over a stick, perhaps expecting a blow from the umpires KS momentarily lost focus and were immediately punished as the spare Newquay forward pounced on the free ball to smash home and level the score. The simplest lesson - ’always play to the whistle’ is sometimes the hardest one to remember!

Breaking for half time gave KS a chance to review the opening 35 minutes with coaches Ash Wyeth and Mike Dennis.

Focused and positive KS returned to the pitch and delivered five minutes exactly to plan which saw them decimate the Newquay defence.

Firstly Kerly scored from a one-on-one with the ‘keeper, then two minutes later KS turned over possession and Mel Showler scored a rebound after her initial shot was well saved.

With a two-goal lead to protect the Cougars were made to work hard by a quality Newquay side who pulled a goal back midway through the half.

KS successfully closed Newquay out of the game to finish a fantastic 3-2 win.

This superb flat out match saw the Cougars stay strong throughout. Massively noticeable over previous seasons was the consistent pace and quality of passing play, which forced KS to up their game and their focus across the pitch.

With many strong performances, woman of the match could have been a tough choice, but ‘keeper Claire Jones’ fearless and fleet footed effort stood out for a landslide win, with several stunning reflex saves protecting the Cougars lead at key points in the second half.

As the girls reflected on a positive start to the season Kingsbridge mayor Wayne Grills and Cougars hoodie sponsor Dan Curtis of DWC Services joined the team and supporters to draw the winning tickets from this years preseason raffle.

All prizewinners will be contacted and the club wishes to thank everyone who has helped raise funds.