Hockey: Old Malton seek strength in depth boost (From Gazette & Herald)

Hockey: Old Malton seek strength in depth boost

3:16pm Wednesday 17th October 2012 in Sport

Old Malton fear they will pay the price of having too few players after a brave but fruitless performance at Kingston on Hull.

Only when they arrived in Hull did they know they had a full complement of 11 players but they had no substitutes.

Said club spokesman Paul Coates: “This has to get sorted for at this level it is going to prove a long season. The 11 players who played are to be commended for the effort they put in. They know this was points given away.”

The 2-1 defeat saw Malton, promoted last year, drop to fifth place in Yorkshire Men’s League division one, though the next three games are at home.

Malton gave top-of-the-table Kingston a fright right at the start as they created a chance on their attack, though it went begging.

Hull settled but Malt kept up the pressure and, with 20 minutes gone, Tom Brough’s well-driven strike was deflected in for a 1-0 lead.

However, Malt immediately switched off, allowing Hull to get a quick reply for a 1-1 half-time scoreline.

The start of the second half was a comedy of errors as Malt somehow managed to give the ball away on the edge of their own ‘D’, and Hull took full advantage to take the lead.

For the next 34 minutes, Malton tried hard to get on level terms but, as in the first half, chances came and went, with shots rushed.

Pickering endured mixed fortunes – and ultimately a late sucker punch – as they lost 4-3 at home to City of York IV in their Yorkshire Women’s League division five clash.

Pickering came from 3-1 down at the break to level, but York bagged a winner with no time for the hosts to hit back again.

The home team had begun the game confidently with an early goal in open play from Lisa Hornby but they failed to dominate the first half.

Play was fragmented and, while scoring chances came at both ends, York were much more clinical in their finishing and took a 3-1 lead.

Pickering picked themselves up in the second half with player-of-the-match Helen Evans breaking down play in defence and providing a springboard to mount attacks. Early passing brought much more expansive play and gave Kat Hardwick the opportunity to slot away a rebound.

The hosts then dominated for a long period of time, controlling the game and creating several chances. The York ’keeper made some good saves, but Hornsby was finally able to squeeze in the equaliser from an early strike in a tight space surrounded by defenders.

The remaining 10 minutes were tense with Kat Smith and Anna Briggs making some good tackles and the Pickering defence doing well to stop York scoring from well-executed short corners.

However, they eventually succumbed when outnumbered at the back.