South Notts Hockey Club women’s lose narrowly to League leaders Ashfield Aztecs in tight contest at Bingham, Nottinghamshire

League Leaders Ashfield Aztecs went onto the home field of South Nottingham determined to stay at the top of the competition.

The Aztecs managed to scrape a 1-0 win against the home side to retain their league lead.

The match was described as a battle of the titans duel by South Nottingham's coach Euan Temple who added that a game of that magnitude is often decided by just one goal.

The Aztecs tried to pressure the home defence early with effective crossing but Alex Stevenson and Ruby Ryan were up to the task of dealing with the issue.

Each team tried to find a way to get it over the opponent’s line but it was hard going for the two evenly matched teams.

The score at the half-time break remained at 0-0.

After the break, there were some solid pieces of attacking from South Notts with Sophie Runciman and Racheael Grupping applying pressure.

However, the Aztecs remained unyielding , and instead took the battle to the South Notts defence.

Elizabeth Turner in goal for the home team made some brilliant saves, helped by Eleanor Wallace who as a sweeper had her work cut out for her dealing with a talented attacking unit.

"It was pulsating, exciting stuff with frequent swings of momentum and switches of emotion across both teams," said Temple.

"South’s defenders showed the solid, all-seasons dependability, of a weatherproof fence.

"Caroline Brackenbury in centre midfield nearly scored by virtue of taking advantage of a deflection but a brilliant save by Aztecs’ keeper kept the score at 0-0.

"Sophie Atkinson, Rose Cartwright and Sammy Markwick kept up purposeful pressure in support of South’s forwards.

"They demonstrated the sort of controlled, constricting, and ultimately clinical performance by the whole team that has become a characteristic this season.

"Evie Bates and Rachael Grupping for South also demonstrated the loveliest examples of hockey art, passes showing ease of timing and trajectory, the vision to see three moves ahead, and the touch to lash the

ball with perfect weight."

Temple added that it seemed clear to the spectators that the first team to score a goal was likely to win the match.

Not long before the end, it would be Aztecs who scrambled a lucky deflection to make it 1-0 which was how the score stayed until full-time.