SOHC 3, Wiscombe 2 Sidmouth and Ottery ladies chalked up a fifth successive central League triumph with a deserved success in a thrilling Ottery encounter.

The visitors arrived sitting a point below SOHC in the Central League table.

Missing four key players, SOHC started cautiously keen not to concede in the opening minutes.

However, their confidence was boosted by some fine early passes between Nicky Bishop, Lea Pidgeon and Chrissie Mitchell Jacobs.

With pressure also coming from the tireless Sophie Jackson, SOHC were rewarded with a penalty corner. Bishop put a solid strike in on goal, deflected in by Sara Roberts.

The game was certainly not one-way traffic; with end-to-end action, requiring some resilient defence, with Ackland and Clay covering the flanks well. SOHC managed to ride the pressure and succeeded in putting a second away to a Bishop strike before the break.

Half0time saw veteran Lea Pidgeon ring the changes, taking the initiative on her last league appearance for SOHC ladies 1st X1. A lynch-pin of the team for decades, she will be sorely missed.

The second half saw more sustained pressure from the opposition, with Winscombe throwing their whole team bar the goalie into the home half!

Jess Allen and Jodie Parsons had to be quick on their feet to keep Winscombe out and eventually the pressure told with the rivals halving the deficit.

It was more creativity from Pidgeon and some hard work in the middle from Philly Cordey that led to Mitchell Jacobs who took on four players in a 30-yard weave before passing the ball beyond the keeper that Jackson rolled into the net.

The visitors weren’t finished though and the last fifteen minutes proved a frantic battle as SOHC tired. Having conceded a succession of penalty corners, a goal-mouth scramble saw the ball bobble agonisingly over the line.

Luckily, time was called on a game where the ladies just edged the victory. Whilst not their greatest performance, SOHC can be pleased with another gritty display, the like of which has edged them a number of tight games this season and afforded them the lofty position of third in the league with two games to go.

Next up for SOHC is Saturday’s trip to table-topping Taw Valley.