A victory in the semi-finals of England Hockey’s Masters Club Championships secured Bedford Hockey Club’s Women’s Over 45s a place in the Plate finals at Lee Valley Hockey Stadium at the weekend.
The journey to the finals saw Bedford open their run with a standout 9-0 performance against Blueharts before falling foul of St Albans, sending Bedford into the Plate competition, where they began with a 14-0 victory over Broxbourne.
The next round brought Bedford face-to-face with Rugby & East Warwickshire, a game which ended in a 2-2 stalemate, and won by Bedford in a penalty shoot-out.
It was a 3-0 win over Sevenoaks which took Bedford into the semi-finals, where they took on Taunton Vale.
Bedford made a dominant start, several shots on goal being blocked by Taunton’s England Masters’ international keeper, but it was Taunton who took the lead with ten minutes to play in the first half.
The lead was short-lived as Bedford pulled the scores level again from a penalty corner at the half-time whistle.
Bedford’s lead came 8 minutes into the second half, followed up by a third goal on the 60th minute mark. A late goal by Taunton, with 2 minutes left on the clock brought a tense finish, but Bedford held their 3-2 lead to take their place in the finals.
The squad will have to wait until next Saturday to find out who they will be meeting but know it will be either Epsom or Harrogate.
Words by Jean Fitch
