Cath Hole was on fire as she scored six times to help Nailsea firsts claim their first victory of West Women's Brunel Division One season in clinical fashion after scoring nine in a 9-1 win against Firebrands fourths on Saturday,
A few changes in the line-up for this local derby, with Nailsea handing Ellie Richardson and Lois Pinkney their debuts, who have come up through the mini and juniors sections.
Both players gave excellent accounts of themselves, Richardson with endless legwork in midfield and Pinkney found some great positioning in front of goal and scoring from a cross to carve her name on the scoresheet.
Only minutes into the game Nailsea were on the attack and threatening. A solo run by Hole took her to the edge of the D and looked for a pass, but after finding herself unchallenged she fired into the far corner.
Ellie Holdaway worked hard forging her way into attack and along with midfielder, Hannah Lacey kept the forwards supplied with some great passing.
Nailsea continued to dominate and began to wear the opposition down as Hole went on to score five more goals to complete a double hat-trick and Gee Corner added two more to take Nailsea's total to nine.
Nailsea seconds came unstuck against Firebrands Fifths after they were beaten 5-0 in their West Women's Brunel Division Two encounter.
Firebrands came out with determination and with no keeper to start, utilised the 11th player on the pitch.
Nailsea were slow to pick up the dangerous front runners and were soon two goals down. The change to man marking the fast paced forwards, disrupted their young players who were already having to cope with a changed line-up.
Excellent defensive work by player of the match Niamh Brodrick and some great shot saving by keeper Laura Waines-Pople kept the goal tally to 3-0 at half-time.
A buoyant and determined Nailsea side returned to the field and this team spirit carried them through to the final whistle, despite conceding two more goals. The tally of penalty corners reached double figures but these were firmly dealt with and confidently cleared, whilst Brodrick amazingly made three saves off the line.
There were several scoring opportunities but no way through Firebrands’ flooded defence. It was a challenging game but heads stayed high and, teamwork stayed strong.
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