Railway registered a win in the EuroHockey Club Indoor Hockey Cup this morning against English side Buckingham. The first two quarters were tentative affairs with few chances for either side. Sarah Patton and Amy Benson combined well to draw a great save from the Buckingham keeper and in the only corner of the half Sarah Patton’s flick went just over the crossbar.
Half-time: Railway 0 Buckingham 0

Six minutes into the 2nd half Mati Errico attacked down the right hand side and drew a save from the Buckingham goalkeeper. Ailish Long pounced on the rebound and scored the first goal of the game.

Railway stuck to their game plan in the final quarter defending deep and making some strong counter-attacking runs. Both Jenny Long and Orla Patton had strong forays forward winning short corners.

From their 5th corner Railway scored their 2nd goal. Sarah Patton’s initial shot was saved but captain Orla Fox made no mistake in slotting home the rebound. Buckingham upped the tempo in the closing minutes as they sought a goal but the Railway defence were up to it, goalkeeper Emma Buckley pulling off a number of crucial saves.

Final score: Railway Union 2 (Ailish Long, Orla Fox) Buckingham 0

Well done to coach Gareth Myburgh and assistant Holly Jenkinson who devised an excellent game plan which was well executed in a fantastic team performance. Sarah Patton was nominated as player of the match by EuroHockey.

Railway faced tough opposition yesterday on day 1 of the competition falling 6-0 to the Belgian National Champions, Royal Racing Club Bruxelles, and then experiencing the quality of the excellent German Dusseldorfer team, where they fell to a 13-1 scoreline. Railway play Swiss side Rottweiss Wettingen at 13.00 Irish Time this afternoon. Still all to play for.

Article by Helen Johnston, Team Manager