Lancaster climb table after draw at Whitley Bay

The visitors opened the scoring against the run of play with their first real attack of the game when player-of-the-match Holly Hunter won the ball well on the right then drove it to the back line.

She fired the ball across the D to where Julie Walker managed to keep it alive.

She in turn found top goal scorer Nicola Conway who, after a perfect first touch, calmly slotted the ball into the far corner.

The game became more open now with both teams winning penalty corners, and Lancaster nearly extended their lead.

Conway’s initial shot was saved and Ali Standeven-Johns hit the rebound first time but a defender managed to save it off the line.

Whitley Bay managed to win penalty corners of their own and with two minutes to go in the half they converted one with a very good deflection into the roof of the net.

In the second half, the game was more open, neither team were settling for a point and both were working hard to look for a winner. Lancaster had the better of the possession and were playing higher up the pitch but just couldn’t create any clear chances.

Whitley Bay were also pressing high but Leighan Bleasdale kept them out with a superb one-on-one save.

In the closing stages Lancaster were still pressing hard, getting plenty of players up the pitch but the final ball eluded them and they couldn’t manage to grab a winner.

l Lancaster 3s delivered a brilliant team performance to earn a draw against Garstang 3s at the weekend.

Lancaster started strongly but Garstang’s experienced showed and some resolute defending saw Lancaster having to regroup, with key tackles coming in from defenders Laura Smith and Marian Anderson on a number of occasions.

Both teams were well matched and Garstang enjoyed a sustained period of pressure and territory as they harried Lancaster’s circle.

The Lancaster team rose to the challenge though and showed great tenacity and skill to keep the scores level.

Lancaster goalkeeper Lizzie McAdam made a number of key saves and Abi Watson and Katie Adamson-Benz linked well down the left to create a break for Lancaster and relieve pressure.

A strong short-corner routine saw Jess Dawson’s strike was forced wide and a turnover not long later also saw a lovely driving run from Kate Parkinson break into Garstang’s circle at pace, her pass to forward Gabby Batty on the back post missed by the slimmest of margins.

The second half started quickly with both teams knowing the closely contested game could be decided by one quick goal.

Lancaster defended well as a team, absorbing Garstang’s high press and pressure and then using the pace of the midfielders to try catch Garstang on the break.

The last five minutes were tense for Lancaster as the lack of a substitute and high work rate led to some tiring legs amongst the team.

A foot in the circle led to a Garstang short corner which was ably parried away by second runner Marian.

Taking the hit out quickly Lancaster tried to launch one last counter attack only to have the whistle go before they could get a final shot away.