Hockey: Midlands and North in form

MIDLANDS, WITH a 1-0 win against South on the opening day of the Women's Under-21 Regional Tournament at Milton Keynes yesterday, gave notice of their intent to hold on to their title while the North overcame West opposition to win 4-1.

The opening game between South and Midlands featured brilliant goalkeeping, appalling penalty corner drill and incomprehensible umpiring.

Clifton's Beth Storry had a dream game in the South goal. Time and time again she cleared her lines as the Midlands descended in their masses and at almost all the incredible 23 penalty corners awarded.

The Midlands were quickly into their stride, with Loughborough's Laura Hughes doing the prompting but it was not until the 15th minute and their 10th penalty corner that their captain, Sally Wright, picked up a rebound to score.

The second game started with North opening the scoring inside four minutes. Two goals inside two minutes midway through the second half confirmed North's domination.