Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) ladies’ 1st XI are into the quarter-finals of the Devon Cup after a thrilling 5-4 win over Plymouth Marjons III at Sidmouth.
In what was the ladies’ final fixture of the calendar year, it all turned out to be the perfect ending to the first half of the campaign for a side who are also well placed in their Petroc Division One campaign.
In what were soggy conditions at Sidmouth, SOHC made a sluggish start and were staring down the barrel of a heavy cup exit when they shipped three early goals.
However, rather than sit back and accept a defeat, SOHC responded to the early adversity and, after some precise passing and quick thinking, they were ‘in the contest’ following a goal from Alice Pleasee. A two goal deficit was quickly down to one when, following a slick short-corner routine, Nicky Lockyer rifled the ball home.
The home pressure continued and it was no more than they deserved when parity was restored just before the break following a second goal from Alice Pleasee.
The half-time chat was for more of the same in the second half and, from the re-start, SOHC were on the front foot and they took the lead with a terrific finish from Megan Thompson-Summers.
Having lost a three-goal lead to be 4-3 down, Marjons were clearly stung and they were quickly back on level terms with a clinical finish of their own.
With the conditions deteriorating all the time, it was clear that neither set of players wanted to settle the tie with penalty flicks. Spurred on by Millie Guy, and with the game now end-to-end, it was SOHC, and, in particular, Alice Pleasee, who held their nerve to find the game’s ninth and final goal, slotting past the Marjons goalkeeper when presented with a one-on-one situation.
So a hat-trick for Alice and a last eight place for the team in the coveted Devon Trophy competition.
The draw for the last eight has been made and it will see SOHC host Okehampton, who booked their last eight berth with a 3-1 away win at Dart.
The remainder of the quarter-final ties are: Plymouth University II versus Isca IV; Teign II versus Plym Valley and Kingsbridge and Salcombe versus SCVH.
The quarter-final ties are to be played before February 28. As for the semi-finals, they are scheduled to be played by March 31 and the final is set for April 19. The ladies are now taking a break from hockey and return to league action on Saturday, January 12, when they entertain the same Okehampton side they must see off to make the last four of the Devon Trophy. The teams have already met once this season in a league game at Okehampton back in September that saw SOHC beaten 4-0.
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