Hockey: Mendip Ladies recover after Shepton Mallet scare in Central Division

Mendip Ladies 1st XI 5, Shepton Mallet Ladies 1st XI 3

A determined second-half display, combined with a true captain's performance from Hayley Bullock, ensured that Mendip secured victory over Central Division strugglers Shepton.

The game looked to be going to form initially, with Mendip starting brightly and creating some good shooting opportunities.

Melissa Forster guided the ball home from an acute angle to open the scoring after five minutes but a fiercely-struck penalty corner levelled the scores before two lapses in defence allowed the visitors to go 3-1 ahead.

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Vikki Sage pulled one back for Mendip just before half-time and the hosts began to play a more fluent game after the break, resulting in an equaliser on 40 minutes thanks to Bullock's neat flick following a well-worked penalty corner.

Mendip edged ahead with another training-ground routine, with player of the match Bullock again claiming the final touch before completing her hat-trick on the hour mark with an expertly-struck flick on the rebound after Louise Forster's initial penalty corner shot had been saved.

On Saturday, Mendip are away to Old Bristolians (12.45pm).

Frys 1st XI 5, Mendip Ladies 2nd XI 0

It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Mendip 2nd XI against two of their mid-table rivals in Brunel Division 1.

On Saturday, they put in a respectable first-half performance and trailed by a single goal at the break, only for Frys to add four more goals after the interval.

The home keeper was rarely troubled and all too often play broke down in midfield, putting Mendip under pressure again.

Sarah Whittaker and Beccy Kettle were kept busy in defence, while goalkeeper Katie Selway made some excellent saves, but Mendip's player of the match was Liv Webster, who put in a tireless performance in defence and midfield.

Mendip Ladies 2nd XI 7, North Somerset 1st XI 1

Mendip bounced back from their defeat at Frys as they overcame North Somerset in fine fashion on Sunday.

Determined to put right the mistakes of the previous day, Mendip's improved passing and movement guided them to a comfortable victory.

North Somerset opened the scoring against the run of play from a short corner but Mendip drew level with a cracking shot from centre-forward Sharon Watts and added further goals either side of half-time.

Mendip pressured the visitors throughout the second half and remained strong at the back. Sarah Whittaker demonstrated great skills at left-back and thwarted many of the North Somerset attacks.

Mendip's player of the match was Meg Adams, who had an excellent game in midfield and was always on hand to receive the ball and distribute it to her team-mates.

Mendip's lead was increased with a hat-trick of goals from left-wing Beccy Kettle, who took up excellent positions in the D. Right midfielder Hannah Brooks-Scully worked hard and linked well with right wing Karen Inns, who was also on the scoresheet with a simple tap-in.

Mendip will look to build on the result when they host Somerset Gryphons on Saturday.

Mendip Ladies 3rd XI 0, Team Bath Buccs 5th XI 1

Mendip Ladies 3rd XI just missed out on their third point of the season after a tight encounter at home to Team Bath Buccs 5th XI.

The hosts had the upper hand for much of the match, dominating possession and putting the visitors under considerable pressure.

However, Bath took advantage of a Mendip defensive error in the first half to open the scoring and that proved enough for victory.

Mendip played with great determination until the final whistle but were unable to convert their chances. Defender Cosima Burgess was named player of the match.