Lytham St Annes hockey round-up: A learning curve for the ladies

Despite Lytham’s hard work, they suffered a 10-0 defeat in a game where they had a couple of chances in the D and were denied several short corners.

Jade Yarwood had one effort well saved, while Beccy Bridgwater made some fine stops at the other end but the Longridge forwards were very experienced and fast.

The seconds, featuring some new, inexperienced players, were beaten 9-0 when they met Garstang’s third team.

With three of the team playing through illness and another going off injured after being hit in the foot, Lytham also saw Charlotte Maclean-Bristol receive a green card.

Lytham trailed 3-0 at half-time before conceding another six, partly down to what they felt was some questionable refereeing.

At one point, Lytham were awarded a free hit near the halfway line, only for the umpire to change his mind.

That saw Garstang take advantage of Lytham’s positioning as they restarted play quickly and were able to score.

The men’s first team drew 1-1 at Kirkby Lonsdale in a game which saw opportunities missed at both ends.

They got off to a good start, putting the hosts under pressure, but were unable to create chances.

Kirkby Lonsdale soaked up that pressure before winning a series of short corners, one of which was converted to give them the lead at half-time.

Lytham were vastly improved in the second half as they were stronger on the ball and played much better hockey.

That led to a number of opportunities, though Ben Lavin and Lewis Jones could not capitalise.

Lytham’s first short corner came midway through the second half and led to the equaliser as Adam Dixon’s effort was palmed into the net by the keeper.

There was an 8-3 defeat for the seconds in their game against Kendal.

Tom Atkinson and Joe Briggs gave Lytham a 2-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes before Kendal pulled one back to trail 2-1 at half-time.

They equalised early in the second half, only for Mike Gannon to restore Lytham’s advantage.

However, Kendal began to play some fine hockey and scored a number of goals to give them victory.