Harrogate Hockey Club Ladies 1st XI miss chance to record first victory of the season

Helen Goacher’s team headed into Saturday’s fixture bottom of Vitality Women’s Conference North having failed to win any of their opening six matches.

But they raced into a 2-0 lead before half-time and also led 3-2 in the second period before eventually being pegged back by their hosts.

The first quarter of the game saw Harrogate’s produce some of their best hockey of the season, with the returning Laura Stone and Lucy Wood providing a strong midfield platform which allowed Harriet Evans to forge forwards.

And the deadlock was broken when Evans unleashed a powerful strike, which the Fylde goalkeeper could only parry into the path of Grace Scholfield-Mell, who tucked away the rebound.

A second goal followed shortly afterwards as the pace of Niamh Clements earned her team a short-corner, which Evans converted clinically into the bottom right-hand corner.

Fylde came back strongly in the second quarter, levelling the scores by half-time courtesy of with two scrappy, close-range finishes.

‘Gate regrouped during the interval and regained the lead as Evans struck from another short-corner to make it 3-2.

But, back came Fylde, who equalised from open play and the visitors needed a superb one-on-one save from player of the match Sarah Mirtaheri to prevent the home side from nicking a late winner.

Goacher and her team-mates remain rooted to the foot of the table following their fourth draw of the campaign, but a victory at home to Durham University 2s on Saturday could see them rise as high as sixth place.