Stockport did not play to their usual standard     

Stockport 1's certainly did not play to their usual standard this weekend. We are currently 2nd in the division table, and this was a poor result that could see us losing ground on our rivals. Stockport conceded early on to an Urmston short corner. The defender tried to block the shot but unfortunately it took a wicked deflection up into the air to fly past the keeper and the defender on the corner post and into the net. Then Stockport's defence failed to clear another ball effectively during an Urmston attack, and the resultant scramble saw Urmston score another, and Stockport were 2 nil down by half time.

In spells Stockport played better hockey, and created some good openings in the opposition circle. Normally our forwards are excellent at putting their chances away, but this weekend it just wasn't happening. Sam Piggin found some space for a reverse stick shot but missed by a crucial few inches. Meanwhile Urmston gained in momentum and further troubled the opposition circle to score their third. It took a very skilful reverse stick shot from Lisa Horbury to finally put Stockport on the score sheet but nobody else could add any more. Towards the end of the game Lisa also had couple more chances but unfortunately they went just wide of the mark.

It was frustrating as Stockport 1's can play much better than they did this weekend. We play Bolton next week and certainly need to improve on this performance if we want to progress further in the league. Let's bounce back from this one quickly and prove what we can do. Come on Stockport.

POM Amy Nicklin

PS Hope Gemma and Angela get well for this weekend