KINGSBRIDGE & Salcombe Hockey Club 1st and 2nd teams were in action this weekend, the latter playing their first game of the season.

Starting with the 1sts though and they travelled to Cornwall in the autumn sun for a clash with Falmouth, who started strong and were quickly rewarded with a goal in the first five minutes.

K&S did not let their heads go down and knew they needed to keep faith in the process. The back line settled the play, passing around the back, before Laura Kerly then took the chance to equalise at the other end, slotting home after great linkup play between her teammates.

Charlotte Budgen was superb at reading the game and intercepted the ball countless times, but a painful fall ended her afternoon early and meant K&S were a player down.

Ellie Malley was on top form in goal and made some brilliant saves, but Falmouth’s strong passing play and movement saw them fire home two more goals to win 3-1.

With six different people nominated for Player of the Match, it demonstrated how hard the team had to battle, Tess Baker coming out on top with the award.

Next up, K&S 1s will be back at home on Saturday, 12 against Exeter.

Onto the 2nd team now and they had they hosted a Dart 2nd team with the sun shining.

K&S started strong and quickly gained possession of the ball- Lisa Ansell and Sophie Lake both ran their hearts out in the midfield, working hard in both directions.

Nina Hardy meanwhile was back playing her first game in five years for the club and they are so happy to have her back, her passing and speed in tracking back are a joy to watch.

K&S trailed 2-0 at halftime but there was a lot of even play and they still had plenty of reasons to be confident.

There were some position changes at the break and plenty of positivity, which was ideal to match the quick and strong start to the second half.

Emma Wood had been firing rockets at the Dart goalkeeper all game and she scored the first goal of the season for Kingsbridge- a huge cheer going up shortly after her finish.

She had a near miss later on in the game when the goalie performed gymnastics to deny Emma a second. She played so well this week and was always looking for a shot or a pass.

Izzy Snape also managed to score a goal this week, but unfortunately it was an own goal!

JL Marlin was the goalkeeper this week and she was jumping and diving everywhere. Despite the fact that Dart scored six, she kept out several goals in impressive fashion.

6-1 was the final score although that doesn’t accurately reflect the efforts of the K&S players. Marlin was named as Player of the Match for her efforts in between the sticks.