Hockey:Victory for Old Malton at Ramgarhia (From Gazette & Herald)

Hockey:Victory for Old Malton at Ramgarhia

2:21pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in Sport

OLD Malton again travelled with the bare 11 players on their return to action but came away from a tough assignment at Ramgarhia with a 5-2 victory.

The win, which came after a weather-enforced three-week lay-off and owed much to battling spirit, lifted the Ryedale side to third in Yorkshire Men’s League division one.

A hard game looked afoot when it got under way, with Malt having to withstand fast-flowing moves. But they remained calm and in fact took the lead when, from a breakaway, James Tindall skilfully rounded two men and slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

It took Ramgarhia only three minutes to level when a missed tackle let them in and smart work saw the ball end up in the net.

But Malton’s response was also instant, as a strong drive into midfield and smart inter-passing saw the ball go to skipper Adam Freer, who neatly flicked it into the top corner.

The game continued to end to end, with both sides creating chances and Tom Bumby in Malton’s goal again making some fine stops.

After 17 minutes, Tindall got his second goal of the game, rounding off more good work by the industrious Chris Booth in midfield.

As the half drew to a close, Malton began getting overrun as the hosts freshened up play with interchanges, and the deficit was narrowed from a short corner.

However, Malt dug deep and on the stroke of half-time a mix-up in the home defence was pounced on by the quick-thinking Steven Lindsley, who restored the visitors’ two-goal advantage.

The second half started much like the first and for 10 minutes Malton were grateful for last-ditch tackles.

They were then hit by a controversial yellow card, which increased the pressure.

Ramgarhia tried to make the most of it and gained short corner after short corner, but the defence stood strong and, when Malt went back to full-strength, a fast counter-attack led to a short corner at the other end, and Lindsley slotted home into the bottom corner to silence the large home crowd.

Meanwhile, Pickering returned to winning ways in Yorkshire Women’s League division five, beating Ben Rhydding 2-1 after dominating the game.

Early passing from the hosts created enough space in midfield to build good attacks and put Ben Rhydding under pressure. Sophie Gilderdale also used her pace well on the right to beat defenders and Pickering were able to force several short corners.

Player-of-the-match Hannah Bastow always looked dangerous in the circle and her tenacity paid off as she scored following a goalmouth scramble.

The visitors made a few forays but great tackling from Georgina Dobson kept them at bay.

Pickering continued to play wonderful hockey in the second half with textbook two-touch passing running rings round the visitors’ defence. Lisa Hornby picked up some pacey passes in the circle from Helen Evans, and after several rebounds made a determined dive to force the ball over the line and make it 2-0.

Ben Rhydding fought back and raised their game to pull apart Pickering’s defence and win several short corners. Their perseverance was rewarded with a goal, but Pickering regained control and took the points.