Convincing derby win over Teign for Ashes Ladies

ASHMOOR Ladies beat Teign B 4-1. The Ashmoor girls made a good start to the match taking the lead through top scorer Jess Kohler after good work by Solei Naisbett-Jones. Kohler then grabbed her second, and Beth Reade made it three with a lovely penalty corner goal.

It was fitting that Jess Kohler scored her hat-trick with a well taken goal and earned the plaudits for her efforts with the player of the match award. The win consolidates Ashmoor's top-three position and bodes very well for next season's assault on the Petroc Two division title. This weekend Ashmoor travel to Sidmouth & Ottery.

SIDMOUTH and Ottery held Ashmoor Men's first team to a 2-2 draw in East Devon.

Ashmoor made it a healthy dozen games unbeaten in the Conference South league but they came away knowing that it was a game where they should have claimed all three points.

Captain Tom Barter returned to the fray after being absent last week, but was not at the top of his normally outstanding game!

Nevertheless, Ashmoor settled well with a good defensive platform of Cullen Turner and Fraser Glover holding firm.

It was from an end to end move that the deadlock was broken midway through the half. Turner made a good covering tackle and fed Jake Crosby who linked up with youngster Jamie Bishop. His pin point pass found Seth Crosby in space and he beat one player before rifling in an unstoppable reverse stick strike.

Ashmoor continued to have plenty of the ball, but too often the final pass was not being picked up and so the attacks halted there.

After the interval Sidmouth and Ottery came into the game more, but they found it hard to break down the Ashmoor defence.

When 15 year old Dan Johnston won Ashmoor's first penalty corner of the match, the ever reliable Jake Crosby stepped up to despatch a great drag flick and increase Ashmoor's lead.

To their credit S&O did not give up, and from a break down the right and a quick cross their centre forward was the first to react diving to deflect the ball into the net and make it 2-1. Five minutes later they found an unmarked player in Ashmoor's 'D', and he played the ball across goal for a far post deflection, giving Liam Bojar in the Ashmoor goal no chance.

Ashmoor lifted their game again, and went at their hosts looking for the winner. Seth Crosby and Alex Rhodes both went close, before Tom Barter won a penalty corner right on the final whistle. Ashmoor worked a nice team move, but the attempt at goal was blocked and the opposition held on to share the points.

Ashmoor stay fifth in the table, just a point behind fourth, and will be hoping that two good results in their final league matches can secure a top-four finish – this would be their highest ever place in the West of England and South Wales League as the club move into their 10th year celebrations for 2013/14.

Ashmoor Mens 2nd XI 1 Taunton Vale C 1

IN their South East 1 match, Ashmoor Men's 2nd team hosted Taunton Vale C, a team they had lost to earlier in the season.

However, in this match Ashmoor produced an excellent performance to draw 1-1.

Ashmoor went a goal down to a soft goal, but rallied to produce some much better team hockey. From a spell of pressure the ever improving Ben Roberts won a penalty corner, which was put away by George Kohler with a clinical strike.

It was a massive improvement on the result against the same team in the first half of the season. Player of the match was George Kohler.

A TRULY fantastic match saw Ashmoor Men's 3rd XI beat Yeovil & Sherborne C 4-3.

Ashmoor's young side showed great mental strength and resilience beyond their years to win this game against the division's table-toppers.

Ashmoor once again fielded a predominantly young side thanks to its successful youth policy at the club, however Ashmoor were caught cold within the first 10 minutes as Yeovil scored twice.

Ashmoor had to dig deep to stop this becoming a rout. Positive action was needed and captain John Lilley changed the shape of the team immediately to counter a rampant Yeovil, switching Joe Turner from a forward's role to man mark the Yeovil danger-man.

Once this was in place the youthful Ashmoor side could then stick to their game plan of quick passing and ball speed hoping to carve an opening, and just before the end of the first half Ashmoor won a penalty corner and Mark Taylor slotted the ball home to pull one back.

The second half saw Ashmoor raise the tempo of the game and at times they were sublime in their passing and moving, leaving Yeovil chasing shadows.

Fletcher Naisbett-Jones, in midfield, waltzed past Yeovil defenders as if they weren't there, and Harry Little on the right and Alex Rowan-Smith on the left opened up the game for the hosts even further by driving the ball with pace past an increasingly down hearted Yeovil defence.

Naisbett-Jones, Little and Rowan-Smith, would then link up with another two of Ashmoor's young forwards, Sam Oxton and Oakley Brunt, and one such move allowed Oxton to score Ashmoor's equaliser.

Mark Taylor however once again steadied the ship in midfield reminding all the young players what they should be doing, and

After coming under pressure Ashmoor - through Fletcher Naisbett-Jones inaugural goal in men's hockey - took the lead with a reverse stick strike.

At 3-2 the game never looked safe and a deflected shot saw Yeovil pull it back to 3-3 with 12 minutes remaining.

Yeovil were playing for the draw, but this wasn't in the mindset of this gifted young Devon side as they ripped through a tired and bemused Yeovil defence. Five minutes before the end Fletcher Naisbett-Jones scored his second goal to make it a superb 4-3 victory for Ashmoor.

Ashmoor's next game is a friendly against the now top of the table Sidmouth and Ottery C!