PETERSFIELD Hockey Club’s ladies’ first team continued their good start to the season with a 5-2 victory at United Services Portsmouth Ladies on Saturday.

Bad traffic meant Petersfield were forced to start with only nine players. Winning the coin toss, Easton opted for the first push back.

Despite the low numbers Petersfield started with a good intensity and took the game to the home side. O’Kelly made an attacking break up the right wing and found Eames in the centre of the pitch. Within the first minute Petersfield were in the attacking D. Eames powered the ball to Choularton on the right post, who neatly tipped it into the goal.

Petersfield still had nine players and United Services slipped the ball across the D to beat the keeper. Jones, sliding across the face of goal, was unable to get enough behind the ball to stop the deflection.

At the restart Petersfield were back up to full force. O’Kelly passed back to Easton, who shifted the ball wide to Briggs on the right wing. Briggs worked with Day to beat the defender and fed the ball to O’Kelly. She drove to the baseline and, drawing the keeper wide, slipped the ball to Eames on the penalty spot. A powerful first-time deflection smashed the ball into the backboard to make it 2-1.

Petersfield were soon back on the attack. Head, Day and Eames joined forces on the left flank, and Eames hit a shot at goal after entering the D.

The keeper deflected the ball away but Choularton pulled the ball to her right and lifted it over the defender’s sticks to give Petersfield a 3-1 lead at half time.

United Services then won a flurry of short corners, but they did not bring any goals. The hosts almost scored when a clean strike towards the right of the goal beat keeper Jones but failed to beat Llewelyn.

Petersfield soon went back on the attack. Easton made an attacking run into the 25 and ran across the top of the D and spotted Choularton by the post. A quick strike from outside the D to the left post was redirected across goal and ricocheted off the opposite post on to the backboard to give the visitors a 4-1 lead.

United Services responded well and won another short corner. The home team played the ball around the D before eventually playing the ball to a striker at the right of the penalty spot who flicked it up.

Easton, on the post, was unable to bring her stick up to meet the ball in time as it bounced off her shoulder and into the back of the net to make the score 4-2.

Petersfield still looked to attack when they could, and the ball was fed from Eames to Easton. Allowed space to run into the D, Easton looked up and struck the ball into the opposite corner of the goal. The keeper stretched out but the small lift on the shot avoided the kicker and the ball reverberated off the woodwork.

Petersfield finished with a convincing 5-2 win and are now in second place in the Hampshire Division 3 (Women) table.

On Saturday Petersfield will be hoping for a third successive win when they host Salisbury Ladies’ third team at Dunhurst School.