SLOUGH returned to winning ways in the Investec Women’s Hockey League by defeating Leicester 2-1 at Upton Court Park on Saturday.

The Pink and Blacks, having lost their unbeaten tag in a 1-0 defeat at East Grinstead the previous week, were fired up from the start of the game and scored twice in the opening 12 minutes.

They had their advantage halved before half time, but held on to secure a deserved victory against tough opponents.

Delighted captain Kat McGonigle commented: “With three wins out of five, plus a draw, we could not have asked for much more to the start of the season. We’re very pleased with how things are going as it increases confidence as we go forward.”

Slough know they will need to produce a more consistent performance than they did last weekend, showing excellent form in the first half but then losing some of their edge in the last 35 minutes.

A fast and determined start saw them go ahead in the ninth minute through Mel Ball with a well placed shot low into the left-hand corner of the net, and three minutes later Emma O’Nein seized on a lapse of concentration in the Leicester defence to bag the second.

Slough were good value for their lead, but three minutes later they needlessly conceded a corner and it led to Maeve Macdonald pulling a goal back.

This certainly gave Leicester a boost going into the second half as they pressed hard for the equaliser.

Slough were unable to reproduce their earlier form yet they managed to hold on to their lead with Dilly Newton having an outstanding game in defence and keeper Asha Tranquille -Day producing one particularly excellent save.

At the other end they nearly added a third with the diving Amy Sheehan just failing to turn home a left-wing cross from Lizzie Totten.

Summing up the game, McGonigle said: “It was a really good first half for us. We were looking to keep the ball a little bit better than we had the previous week and we did that.

“We really felt we had the upper hand, but we let them back in with a cheap corner just before half time.

“The second half was a frantic one as we just could not seem to keep the ball any more. There were chances at both ends. We had a clear-cut chance but then so did they.

“On our first-half performance and how well we stuck at keeping them out in the second half, we felt we deserved to win.”

The Pink and Blacks stay second in the Premier Division on goal difference, with leaders Surbiton, Slough and East Grinstead all level on 10 points after five games. And the top two meet at Surbiton this Saturday (2pm pushback).

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