Garstang Hockey Club’s seconds are edged out by Southport

The Reds were on the front foot from the start and won their first penalty corner after nine minutes.

Arianna Lowery cracked a shot on goal but it was too high and the umpire rightly awarded a hit to Southport.

On 19 minutes, Southport nearly caught out Garstang on the break but keeper Izzy Harwood made two quick saves.

Garstang won their third corner on 26 minutes, and after two shots in the goal mouth from Ariana Lowery, man-of-the-match Stephanie Roe got the ball home for a 1-0 lead.

Southport, however, again broke through on 31 minutes, and although Harwood made two saves, a third effort deflected into the goal to make it 1-1.

Garstang started the second half brightly and won their fourth penalty corner after two minutes.

A quick slip and shot across the keeper went just wide of the post, while Evie Parkinson made great inroads down the wing but saw two shots saved.

A repeated penalty corner on 11 minutes left Garstang with nothing but they dominated play and possession.

Southport, however, broke free on 20 minutes and won a penalty corner from which they scored for a 2-1 lead. 
For the remainder of the half Garstang played really well but just could not get a goal.

They deserved a draw on the balance of play with eight penalty corners to one but were held off by a very capable, organised Southport defence.