Gutsy win over Harlequins

LURGAN began their league programme with a gutsy win over Harlequins, a team they have never beaten before, at Lurgan Junior High School on Saturday .

It was a nervous start by Lurgan as Quins pushed forward purposefully in the opening minutes .

Two early penalty corner awards to the Belfast side were well defended by Lurgan, the second of which saw Lisa Costley pull off a cracking save .

On 15 minutes a Zoe McNally shot flew just wide of the Quins post and on 18 minutes Lurgan won their first penalty corner which was well saved by the Quins keeper.

Two further penalty corners in quick succession were well defended as Lurgan pressed forward but Quins were dangerous on the break .

Both teams couldn't hold on to the ball for any length of time and Lurgan in particular were guilty of giving it away far too easily .

Clearly the half-time talk from Jeanette had a profound effect on the Lurgan players as they were a different side in the second half.

Their passing was better, their composure on the ball was better and their running off the ball was better .

Three minutes in and Lurgan were awarded a free just outside the Quins circle.

The ever alert Sarah McClure picked up the ball and ran five metres before slipping a lovely through pass to Jenny Harvey who hit a beautiful reverse-stick shot past the Quins keeper into the corner of the net .

This goal seemed to calm Lurgan nerves as they pretty much took control of the game and had the Belfast side retreating for most of this half .

On 14 minutes, a great break from Joanne Wilson saw her square the ball to strike partner Jill Edgar, who had made a superb run into the circle, but Jill's shot was well saved by the Harlequins keeper.

Lurgan's pressure continued to build and two further penalty corners were well saved by the Quins keeper who was almost single-handedly keeping her side in the match.

Lurgan's passing and control was excellent and no greater evidence of this was the uncanny way in which the Barr twins, Bethany and Serena, had a knack of finding each other in seemingly impossibly tight situations.

The Lurgan defence were much tighter in the second half and it was great to see Debbie Neish (nee Andrews) back at the heart of the defence and showing she has lost none of her touch, skill and tackling ability.

Another well won short corner by Joanne Wilson saw the resulting strike well saved by the Quins keeper and scrambled clear by their defence.

When the final whistle went, Lurgan were still in control of the ball and the game.

This was a great result for the Lurgan team and augers well for the season ahead.