Wakefield 2 – 2 Ben Rhydding

A late equaliser for Wakefield saw the Yorkshire sides take a point apiece in the Investec Women’s National League Conference North

Ben Rhydding Ladies took the short trip to College Grove, to take on Yorkshire rivals and current league leaders Wakefield, still elated from their 3-1 victory over Durham University the previous week.

In the seven game history of the Wakefield v Ben Rhydding fixture, Ben Rhydding have only won once, drawing three and losing three, proving that this game would be a tough one.

The match started with a high intensity, but nerves meant that there were some wayward tackles and passes in the first five minutes.

However, after just nine minutes, the visitors opened the scoring through Tanisha Janzen, the full back’s second of the season. The ball was dragged out from a penalty corner by Rachel Doherty, where Janzen fired it from the top of the circle through the Wakefield keeper’s leg pads.

Wakefield’s reply came eight minutes later. Some sloppy marking couldn’t contain Georgia Byas and she tapped it past Ben Rhydding’s goal line to make the score level.

Player of the match Kate Hesketh was a constant white blur for Ben Rhydding, and with some expert 3D skills won lots of free hits for her side in the Wakefield’s defensive third. A ball threaded through from Sarah Bell at inside forward found Beth Cordukes in the D, in similar fashion to last week. Cordukes slapped the ball using a disguised shot into the bottom right corner with only seven minutes remaining on the clock.

A tense end to the game saw Rosie Tootell equalise for the home side on the 66th minute mark at a short corner.

A few last ditch attempts for Ben Rhydding at the other end couldn’t give them a winner, and the final whistle blew meaning both sides would leave with a point.

This week, Ben Rhydding host a double header, with newcomers to the league Springfields on Saturday at 1:30pm and Didsbury Northern on Sunday at 1:30pm for the England Hockey Women’s Cup.