Bridgnorth 1st XI 2 - 0 Montgomery

Bridgnorth laboured to victory in a frustrating encounter with Montgomery, but extended their lead at the top of Shropshire league with a ninth straight win.

The home side dominated possession from the off, pinning Montgomery back and creating chances, but it quickly became clear that fortune was not favouring the league leaders as a combination of good goalkeeping, questionable decisions, poor finishing and plain bad luck conspired to deny the Bridgnorth attack. Montgomery chose to pack their D, making for some scrappy but effective defending although they rarely threatened much in response. Finally the breakthrough came for Louise Walker, who ran the right angle to pick up ten yards out and bury the ball to the keeper’s right.

The second half saw a continuation of the frustration, with the home side winning corner after corner but unable to convert. As Bridgnorth pushed, Montgomery occasionally broke the press to launch a counter attack, but the home side ably soaked up the pressure. Around the fifty-minute mark, Lauren Cash doubled the advantage, meeting Mel Hill’s cutback for 2-0 and a deserved, if unspectacular win.

Skipper Hill said “It was definitely a frustrating match but most importantly we won and we kept another clean sheet. Credit to Montgomery, they were well organised and made us work harder than any other side we’ve played. But we are a good team, we play good hockey and we’ll be looking for a more convincing result next week against Telford.”