BUCS Cup Women’s Hockey: York 1sts 7-0 Sheffield Hallam 3rds

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Photos: Jack Western

York Ladies’ 1sts ensured their safe passage to the third round of the BUCS Cup in the smoothest possible fashion as they trounced Sheffield Hallam 3rds on the JLD.

In what turned out to be a mismatch of the highest order, Izi Hutchinson’s side produced a display of ruthlessly slick attacking hockey right from push-back, as Katie Penrose and Minerva Saner starred for the home side.

Following last week’s 4-2 home loss to Newcastle 2nds, the hosts were determined to pick up their first BUCS win since the 6th of November. And they began the match with blistering intent, as Penrose found the back of the Hallam net within the first minute after combining well with Saner in the area. York were able to double their lead not long after after carving the visitors up.

Hallam were already looking dejected, as lacklustre marking and half-hearted defending were to define their performance. There was a brief time-out, in which York had to change bibs from red to green to reduce confusion between the sides, but this was still not a worthy excuse for Hallam’s weak display.

Sheffield Hallam’s 2nds team had already beaten York on this very pitch earlier in the season in a stunning first-half display. In stark contrast, today’s visitors rarely ventured outside their own territory in the first half. Captain Hutchinson never found herself stationed behind the half-way line, switching play with ease as she pulled the strings from the back.

Jess Harwood’s speculative effort from the edge of the D took a deflection on its way through and ended up in the back of the goal for the White Rose’s third of the afternoon, before Saner struck a long-range effort of her own to make the scores a commanding 4-0 inside twenty minutes.

A surging run from the lively Penrose almost resulted in a fifth, only for umpire Phil Ratliff to rule the goal out following an infringement in the D. Penrose was not to be denied her second though, lashing the ball into the net after slack defence from the away side.

The result was beyond any doubt by the interval, as Hallam 3rds, who play three tiers below York in the BUCS divisions, were not looking remotely close to causing a cup upset. There was some half-time entertainment in the form of a spectator entering the pitch and speedily consuming a bottle of wine with grand aplomb as the match began to take on a festive atmosphere.

Shortly after the half-time break, the now familiar thud of the hockey ball striking the back of the goal sounded again as the White Rose struck their sixth of the afternoon following a series of short corners.

The visitors did liven up, in their defence, even forcing home ‘keeper Liz Furber into making a number of clearances, but in truth, they carried very little threat. Minerva Saner added a seventh for York after slotting in from close range to conclude the evening’s formalities.

After the match, a satisfied Hutchinson told Vision: “The forward line has improved a lot since last time we played. It was obviously brilliant to score seven goals. There’s still a lot to work on, but we are confident we will be ready for the next round of the Cup.”