Ben Rhydding Ladies 4 Loughborough Students 2

BEN Rhydding reached the quarter-finals of the England Hockey Cup for the first time on Sunday with a rousing victory over a side under the guidance of their former coach James Ross.

The home side were quickly into their stride and went in front early on when Tanisha Janzen’s bullet strike flew in at a short corner.

Tensions were high in this fast-paced battle, giving the umpire no qualms about handing out several yellow cards and upgrading offences to short corners.

A meaty challenge brought down Rachel Doherty, but the experienced forward could not convert the resulting penalty corner.

Ellie Tait equalised for the student side before half-time, but Ben Rhydding staved off any hopes of a comeback for the visitors with Jo Ellis and Doherty scoring one each inside ten minutes after the break.

Player of the match Sarah Whitehead cemented her tough reputation by shrugging off challenges from three Loughborough defenders, muscling her way through the top D with only the keeper to beat. Selflessly she found Laura Smith laying in wait on the far post, who deflected it home.

Rhydding continued to pass the ball around with confidence and Kate Hesketh almost made it five, when she hit the woodwork after an Ellis cross.

Fatigue started to show, and Rhydding found themselves down to nine players for a short period which set up a nervy finish.

Loughborough capitalised and scored a second goal late on, but as the final hooter sounded, it proved to be just a consolation.

The next round is set for next Valentine’s Day when Rhydding visit top-flight team Buckingham.

The cup win crowned a great weekend for Ben Rhydding. They recorded their biggest Investec Women's Conference North win of the season on Saturday when they triumphed 7-0 at Liverpool Sefton.

Jo Ellis hit a hat-trick hat trick, Rebecca Dallas (2), Kate Hesketh and Beth Cordukes were on target as Ben Rhydding made light of a waterlogged pitch.