Disappointment for Ladies 3s

Halifax were left to rue a poor performance, wasted opportunities and vital umpiring decisions in this crucial match at the top of Yorkshire Division 4.

Halifax applied pressure on Ben Rhydding from the start and kept the ball at the attacking end of the pitch for the first twenty minutes. Ben Rhydding were difficult to break down at the back and they were threatening on the break down the middle of the pitch as Halifax pushed forward, leaving gaps for their fast forwards to exploit.

Midway through the half Halifax, through Sara Woodhead, had the ball in the net fractions of a second after the umpire blew the whistle to award them a short corner. Halifax protested to no avail, and failed to make anything of the resultant short corner. Ben Rhydding were bolstered by the umpiring mistake and began to get a foothold in the game. Jess Stott made several crucial tackles with the defence exposed again on the break and Kiera Hayman was called upon in the Halifax goal. Despite never finding their top form Halifax continued to look the better team for the remainder of the first half and after a driving run into the circle Robyn Fawkes got off a shot which she thought had crossed the line but again the umpire denied the goal.

The second half saw Ben Rhydding enjoy more possession, partly due to Halifax’s inability to string more than a few passes together. They made the first break through, scoring with ten minutes left and Halifax were unable to find a reply. A disappointing result which sees Ben Rhydding go into second place above Halifax with just two games remaining.