TOP of the league Wilmslow Hockey Club’s women defeated mid-table Sale 1-0 at Oakwood Farm.

With the squad depleted and no coach at hand to ‘rally the troops’, it was up to the players on show to muster up a match-winning performance.

Despite some smooth transfers and neat passing from defence and through midfield, the team struggled to put away several strong scoring opportunities against a seasoned Sale squad.

The visitors’ defensive skills again made it hard for the hosts to capitalise on a run of short corners until a rebound fell nicely to Emilie Kelman at the top of the D. A beautifully timed miss-hit bobbler of a shot wrong footed the experienced keeper, putting the team awkwardly but still deservedly 1-0 up at half time.

During a chilly team talk the ladies decided they’d do better in the second half by passing to each other rather than the opposition in the final third.

Despite this ‘new year’s resolution’, it was Sale who looked more threatening as Wilmslow lost their concentration and shape briefly.

With words of encouragement coming from the dug-out and the sideline, they soon found their stride and regained their control over possession.

A player-of-the-match performance from Hannah Kelman in midfield was backed up by solid efforts from sister and captain Charlotte in defence as well as keeper Lang, who played her part at the opposite end by making several excellent saves to thwart any equalising opportunities.

This weekend the squad looks to be injury and flu free and back to full strength as they wander to Wales to play Wrexham, where they hope to continue their undefeated run and top table spot.

The women’s seconds beat Knutsford’s first string 2-1 to stay leaders of their league.

The thirds went down 0-1 to Warrington’s seconds in a close contest but Wilmslow’s fourths had an excellent 3-0 away win against Oxton to stay in second place.