By Jacob Phillips
USW women’s hockey rallied strongly in the second half but it wasn’t enough to prevent a narrow defeat to Gloucester.
A goal by Katie Underpud late on gave the home side hope of snatching a draw after they went 2-0 down to the visitors earlier on, but ultimately it wasn’t quite enough.
A fast start for Gloucester saw Abby Slater snatch the ball at the halfway line before rounding the USW goalkeeper and slotting into an empty net.
And it wasn’t long before Gloucester doubled their lead when forward Eliza Bingham positioned herself well from a short corner and neatly struck into the bottom left corner.
Lowri Durham held the fort well for Gloucester throughout the course of the first half, denying a couple of clear-cut USW opportunities.
Though the away side were on top for the first twenty minutes, Underpud began to turn on the heat in the midfield, looking likely to create something every time she carried the ball forward.
USW continued to knock on Gloucester’s door but struggled to convert their chances toward the end of the second half, which ended 2-0 to the visitors.
USW came bursting out of the blocks at the beginning of the second half as plenty of balls were pumped into Gloucester’s shooting circle, but the hosts lacked ruthlessness.
Megan Dearman began to exert her influence for USW, constantly carrying the ball down the left-hand side up against Gloucester’s Kate Barrett, but USW simply couldn’t get the ball in the net.
Underpud did get the breakthrough but only with five minutes left – not enough time to earn a share of the spoils.