BASINGSTOKE Hockey Ladies sponsored by KJ Smith solicitors had a great start in their match against Tulse Hill and Dulwich.

In the first 10 minutes Basingstoke had a couple of opportunities to take the lead, with the best being a penalty stroke which was saved by the Dulwich goalkeeper.

Dulwich dominated the rest of the first half, winning numerous penalty corners.

Basingstoke dug deep, soaking up a lot of pressure and managing to finish the half without conceding.

In the second half, it was Basingstoke's turn to shine, pressing Dulwich more effectively. Following a number of penalty corners, it was Claire Bowman who finally broke the deadlock with a wonderful shot across the goal to open the scoring for Basingstoke.

Dulwich worked hard for an equaliser, but to no avail, and finally, player of the match, Roxy O'Dea was rewarded for her tenacity with a great individual goal.

The game concluded with a 2-0 win to the Ladies.

With four promotion spots up for grabs in the league, it is making for a super exciting finish to the league.

The seconds beat Trojans 3s 3-0, with the three goals scorers being Sarah Mainprise, Jude Bird and Sarah Lemasney.

In their continuing battle to stay in Division Two the thirds tried a new formation to alleviate the dearth of defenders fallen to injury and illness.

They did well to hold Yateley off, in the first 15 minutes before they finally took the lead.

In this competitive match, Basingstoke came back into the game as an attacking force with a fierce shot from Jess Pritchard just missing the post.

Yateley went further ahead from a well worked penalty corner before the 3s pulled one back after Nicky Dowds finished off a superb pass from Olivia Wade.

Despite goalkeeper Nicky Ball being in excellent form and the team throwing everything forward, Yateley held out to win 2-1.

The fourths pulled off a convincing 3-0 win in their match at home against West Meon. The game kicked off with great passing, strong defensive play, and great communication from Basingstoke, despite the windy conditions. Sharon Holden exploited the opposition’s lax defending taking the 4s into the lead in the first half. In the second half, the 4s increased their lead, with another goal from Sharon Holden and Basingstoke’s third coming from Ellie Rixon. West Meon were no match against Basingstoke’s strong defence and attacking play, and the game ended with a well-deserved win.

Ladies 5s found themselves on the receiving end of their first defeat this season, losing 4-1 against Yateley 3s. The first half was based on strong attacking play from Yateley who took the game to the 5s, who in turn had no response, finding themselves 2-0 down at the end of the first half. The 5s stepped up their game in the second half with more solid defending and improved attacking play, which resulted in a great goal from Karen Binney at the top of the D. However, Yateley meant business, scoring their third and fourth goals in succession with no response from the ladies 5s, and the game ended with a disappointing 1-4 defeat.

The ladies 6s travelled to Romsey for their match this week. Basingstoke took an early lead through two goals in succession from Emily Romain. Romsey didn’t give up and bounced back also scoring two goals in succession to level the score. The 6s regained the lead through a goal from Jo Lockyer, and Romsey responded in kind. In the final stage of the game, Basingstoke’s Megan Payne scored, allowing Basingstoke to regain the lead, but in the same pattern within two minutes Romsey had equalised. A thrilling match and outstanding performance by the whole team, and the game ending with a 4-4 draw.

In their match this week, the ladies 7s beat Romsey 2-1 with captain Luci McCallum getting her name on the scoresheet. A fabulous game for the under 16 girls who won 7-1 against Andover. With Ellie Rixon and Megan Payne scoring three goals each, and Milly Raybould also getting her name on the scoresheet.

In the men’s games this week, the 1s drew 2-2 in their away match against London Edwardians, while the men’s 2s won 2-0 against Southampton University. The men's 3s beat Winchester 1-0 to go one game away from winning the league. Unfortunately, the men’s 4s lost 4-1 against Southampton 3s, with Eliot Boyd scoring Basingstoke’s only goal. The men’s 5s lost 4-2 against Fleet & Ewshott, with

Dave Cramer and Nigel Dean scoring Basingstoke’s goals. The men’s 6s won 4-0 against Petersfield.

If you are interested in discussing sponsorship options, please contact projectpitch@basingstoke-hockey.com.