BASINGSTOKE Hockey Ladies sponsored by KJS Solicitors were up against Bath in their final match of the first half of the season, and were keen to end on a high.

Basingstoke started strong taking the opposition by surprise with wave after wave of attacking play. Nine minutes into the game, Clare Griffiths passed the ball to Nicola George on the right who drove the ball down to the baseline, and laid off a sneaky pass under her arm to Claire Bowman who connected beautifully with the ball, sending it smashing into the goal.

Basingstoke continued to pile on the pressure in the second quarter, winning numerous attacking short corners which didn’t pay off.

Just after half time Basingstoke were rewarded with another goal, thanks to Stephanie Hazell’s slapped ball from a penalty corner, that was hit at great speed towards the goal. The ball hit a stick and deflected up over the keeper into the net.

At 2-0 down, the opposition attempted to fight back, by putting Basingstoke under pressure, however the ladies held strong and did not concede a goal.

The game concluded with a well-deserved 2-0 win to Basingstoke, with the next game taking place on February 19 2020, against Bristol University.

The Ladies fourth team welcomed top of the league New Forest off the back of a very average performance leading to a draw against mid-table Blandford last week.

With strong attacking play from the onset, the fourths effort paid off with their first goals coming from Bev Mackay, who pounced on a rebound from Beth Flintoff’s first shot that hit the post.

Ahead 1-0, the team surged forward with Ulrike Maier scoring her first goal by coolly smacking home a well worked open play from the right of the pitch.

Maier then tucked in another at the right post, on the end of a cross from Mackay.

In the second half it wasn’t long before Mackay took another goal with a real thumper.

Basingstoke’s momentary lapse in concentration allowed New Forest to get a goal back.

The fourth held their nerve winning a short corner that Maier made sure of scoring to take her hat-trick. Final score 5-1 to the ladies 4s, which takes them into second place in the table.

It was a frustrating 1-1 draw for the fifths, in their match against Eastleigh.

Basingstoke had good possession and great speed of the ball, with many opportunities to score, but weren’t able to convert.

In the latter stages of the first half, Eastleigh beat the Basingstoke’s defensive shield to take the initial lead.

In the second half, a solo run from Katie Thomson allowed her to score Basingstoke’s equaliser.

With missed opportunities from both team, the game concluded with a solid 1-1 draw.

The ladies sixths won 2-1 in their match against Yateley. Luci McCallum opened the scoring after beating the Yateley defence and hitting the ball sweetly into the bottom corner to put Basingstoke ahead.

With Basingstoke dominating the game, Andrea Tallett found herself free at the back post to sweep the ball into the goal to make the score 2-0.

Yateley responded with a surge of possession and attacking play were rewarded with a goal. Final score, a well-deserved 2-1 win to the ladies sixths.

In other games this week, the men's first team won 5-3 against Fareham 2s, with Andy Pett earning himself a hat-trick.

The men's thirds won 5-4 against Southampton University and the fourths lost 3-1 against Southampton University.

The fifths won 3-2 against Camberley and the sixth team drew 2-2 against Fleet and Ewshot.

The under-16 boys played a fantastic cup match against Havant. The score at full-time being 1-1 draw, with Basingstoke eventually losing on penalties.