Petroc Division One

Teign IIs 2

Dartmouth were without some first-choice players this week, but Izzy Snape and Aylene Sprent both stepped up to the plate and played their part for the team.

There were welcome returns for Lucy and Hannah Pillar while their babies Mason and Astrid watched from the sideline.

Dartmouth will still be scratching their heads and thinking how they didn’t draw this game at one goal each. Take nothing away from Teign – they are a good team and are hard to break down.

Mandy Servan obviously didn’t read the script. With eight minutes gone, Sarah Barrett took a free hit from her own half, slid the ball into Lucy Pillar’s path and with a flick of the stick the ball found Mandy travelling at a rate of knots. Mandy still had a job to do with a one-on-one with the Teign keeper, but she smashed the ball into the backboard to put Dartmouth in the lead.

From then on Teign decided to park the bus and hit Dartmouth on the ­counter. Dartmouth gave as good as they got, but it was a short corner awarded to Teign that undid Dartmouth and saw Teign draw level.

Dartmouth pushed on with Sam Webb, Sarah Barrett, Lenny Sprent, Charley Langman and Freya Bradley all pushing the Teign defence, but it was one apiece at the half-time whistle.

The half-time talk from skipper Lisa Ansell and Matt Putt was as always encouraging and they asked for the same intensity in the second half and to keep pressing the Teign defence. Dartmouth did just that from the restart and were unlucky not to be ahead in the first three minutes, with Sarah Barrett going close.

It was nip-and-tuck after that and, on the 20th minute, Sarah Barrett took a tumble. She could well be out for the rest of the season with a suspected pulled rotator cuff, or pulled shoulder.

Dartmouth didn’t give up and thought the game was looking like a draw with just one minute left – but Teign got another short ­corner and scored from it.

Dartmouth hearts sank and as soon as the ball was touched for a restart, the final whistle was blown.

Dartmouth will have had to pick themselves up, because they had Torbay to play last night and another game against Honiton Hornets on Saturday at Exeter.

The match was kindly sponsored by Micky Wadeson, owner of a local taxi firm.

Charley Langman was given the player of the match and was awarded the prize back at The Old Inn at Halwell.