Delight for Leicester Pukkas
Leicester kick started their season with a convincing 3-0 victory over West Midlands side Sutton Coldfield. Bolstered by the return of European Bronze medal winning England internationals Hannah Macleod, Chloe Rogers and Anne Panter, “The Pukkas” were determined to take all 3 points in what was a relatively unknown “bottom of the table clash” for Leicester.
In difficult conditions with the sun bearing down on a less than ideal playing surface, both teams took a little while to adjust to the pitch. Leicester looked the more threatening, winning a high number of Penalty corners throughout the match but failing to convert. It was Hannah Macleod who opened the scoring for Leicester, pouncing on a loose ball in 15th minute, giving Leicester a 1-0 lead at half time.
It could have soon been 2-0 after some excellent play down the right hand side form Beijing Olympian Chloe Rogers earned her side a Penalty Stroke, but unfortunately Anne Panter failed to convert.
Leicester kept the pressure on Sutton in the 2nd half, creating a number of opportunities to increase their score line. Jessica Hickman bagged her first goal of this campaign with a close range finish in the 45th minute, rounding off a good individual performance for the youngster.
It was Hannah Macleod who sealed the victory for Leicester, again making a nuisance of herself in front of the Sutton goal, this time getting on the end of a Chloe Rogers strike from a Penalty corner.
It is fair to say they were 3 points well earned which lifts Leicester off the bottom of the table and looking to build on this performance in the coming weeks.
Leicester’s Katie Long was delighted with the result “It was really important for us to get 3 points today. After a difficult start to the season we really needed to pick up some momentum to take us forward. It was great to have a few players back in the squad and there were some fantastic performances from young players Jessica Hickman and Lizzie Honarmand.”
