By Adam Cleary
USW 3rd suffered a disappointing home loss to a very strong Hartpury 2nd team at the Sport Park, losing 59-10 despite some impressive attacking play.
USW made a bright start against an experienced visiting side and were only 4-2 down halfway through the first quarter, with bright displays from goal shooter Ashley Russell and goal attack Kiera Aitkin keeping them in the game.
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But as the first quarter progressed Hartpury began to show their quality. The likes of Tash Pawley and Lily Banbury-Pugh stamped their influence on the game, creating plenty of opportunities for goal shooter Chloe Mullins and goal attack Amy Norris, who took their chances well and took Hartpury into a 13-3 lead after the first quarter.
Hartpury really began to show their class in the second quarter and began to fashion a plethora of opportunities.
Strike duo Norris and Mullins chalked up 13 goals between them to take the visitors into a 26-5 lead at the halfway mark.
Despite Hartpury’s obvious attacking prowess, USW refused to roll over and grabbed two goals of their own through Aitkin in the second quarter.
Star Hartpury player Mullins was replaced by Nareece Ford at the halfway mark, and Ford wasted no time getting in on the scoring act. She grabbed Ford an impressive 12 goals in the third quarter alone, helping to take Hartpury to an unassailable 43-7 lead going into the final 15 minutes.
USW began the fourth quarter as the better team, getting two goals of their own through Russell and Aitkin, but it wasn’t long until Hartpury found their stride again with another 15 goals from Ford, and one from Norris.
To their credit, USW got the final goal of the game, with an impressive effort from Russell taking the full time score to 59-10 in favour of the visitors.
USW are next in action when they travel to Mid Wales for a game against Aberystwyth University.