Champions Forest extend their unbeaten run

Hayley Baines scored the only goal as North Hockey Women's League Division 1 champions Pendle Forest extended their unbeaten run at City of York Ladies firsts on Saturday.
Pendle Forest 2nd (red) v Leyland and Chorley 1st (black), Ladies Hockey at Marsden Heights College, Nelson. Hayley Baines in action for Pendle Forest. Picture by Paul Heyes, Saturday October 31, 2015.Pendle Forest 2nd (red) v Leyland and Chorley 1st (black), Ladies Hockey at Marsden Heights College, Nelson. Hayley Baines in action for Pendle Forest. Picture by Paul Heyes, Saturday October 31, 2015.
Pendle Forest 2nd (red) v Leyland and Chorley 1st (black), Ladies Hockey at Marsden Heights College, Nelson. Hayley Baines in action for Pendle Forest. Picture by Paul Heyes, Saturday October 31, 2015.

Forest sealed the title with wins over Leeds Adel Ladies and Didsbury Greys Ladies last weekend, and made it 73 league games without defeat at York University.

In the atrocious conditions at the weekend, Forest struggled to find their feet.

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York settled into the game first, on their home pitch, blasting balls into the D, trying to get a deflection to find the back netting.

Goalkeeper Laura Kendall was called upon to make several saves, pushing one narrowly past her right post.

At Forest’s attacking end, they gained a couple of penalty corners, and Charlotte Hartley was denied in open play when the ball hit the post.

With the score at 0-0 at half-time, Forest had their work cut out.

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But within two minutes of the restart, Forest made the breakthrough when Freya Bythell passed a ball into the circle to Hartley, and it bounced off several sticks before Baines got a touch, glancing the keeper’s pads and rolling over the line.

Following that, Lisa Crewe was sent to the sidelines for five minutes for dissent.

Freya Bythell narrowly missed when she struck a ball across the goal, as did Hartley, who struck the woodwork a further two times.

York became frustrated in the second half , but as the game went on, they didn’t stop looking dangerous.

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Player of the match Jan Cormack and the defensive line held firm, and in attack Karen Wignall linked well with the other forwards.

Forest had to settle for the 1-0 win, keeping their 73 match unbeaten run alive with just one match left to play this season, against York at home at 11-30 a.m. on Saturday.