Sidmouth and Ottery (SOHC) ladies’ fourth team were well beaten when they met an in form Honiton Hornets.

Despite missing a number of regular players SOHC started brightly. The opposition are clearly a competent side, but the home youngsters gave as good as they got in the face of what became increasingly physical play!

It was a spirited and tenacious performance from the defence that frustrated the fleet-footed Honiton attackers.

SOHC goalkeeper Charlotte Brodie made some crucial saves and Jo Elliott, Cath Vincent and Emily Bolton all showed some real talent for tackling!

Trailing by a single goal at half-time, SOHC made a good start to the second period and, with Kate Fraser, Jazz Bolton and Helen Edwards working tirelessly in midfield and Norma Rich proving to be a constant thorn in the side of the opposition, the pressure began to build.

Finally, the well organized Honiton back line made a mistake and a deliberate stop on the line by the defender with her foot, gave SOHC the chance to level things up, and Jane Roberts did just that, rifling the penalty flick into the net.

Honiton hit back to restore their lead before an SOHC short corner strike was disallowed having just missed the top of the backboard by centimeters!

With ten minutes to go SOHC were still only 2-1 down and a draw was still on the cards!

With a break in play due to a head injury, SOHC lost their focus and let in three more goals in quick succession to lose the game to what looks a heavy score line.

However, this was very much a game that saw SOHC highly competitive throughout and the team can be very pleased with their collective efforts.