Dogged display keeps Loreto at the summit
LORETO turned in a dogged performance to flip a one-goal halftime deficit and beat Old Alex 2-1 at Milltown and stay top of the Women’s EY Hockey League.
Ireland internationals Ali Meeke and Hannah Matthews both served up the decisive scores for the Beaufort side after Emma Russell had broken the deadlock in favour of the homeside early on.
Loreto and Ireland international Ali Meeke and Loreto Head Coach Paul Fitzpatrick. Photo by Billy Pollock
“I was very happy with the win,” Loreto Head Coach Paul Fitzpatrick told The Echo. “We didn’t play our best, but you can’t play your best every week.
“Alex are a good side. They’ve recruited very well, picking up eight or nine players, all of them very good quality.
“We gave away a soft goal from a mistake by ourselves and we found them very difficult to break down.
“But we settled ourselves at halftime and took a review of how we were going to approach the second half. We won a few corners and scored from two of them. I told the players it was a very mature performance.
“We’re training hard and learning different shapes and strategies to help make ourselves unpredictable.
“We’re also scoring a lot more from offensive corners. In the last six games we’ve had 16 or 17 goals and conceded only three and so we’re doing well defensively too,” he pointed out.
The weekend’s result keeps Loreto joint top with Pegasus, but ahead on goal difference after six games, and Fitzpatrick is very pleased at how the season is going so far.
“It’s the first year in which we’re not chasing a six or seven point gap,” he said.
“While winning the league is great, it’s that top-four position where you want to be, so it’s about staying in touching distance of that.”
His side face another tricky test on Saturday when they welcome fourth place Belfast Harlequins to Grange Road while Pegasus will do battle with Old Alex at Queens University.
On another note, Loreto stormed through to the third round of the Irish Junior Cup following a 7-0 demolition of Ulster Elkes.
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