ASHMOOR men's 1st team travelled to Bath with confidence high after their biggest league win of the season at Reading the previous weekend, reports Steve Dinnie.

Rich Ashworth came close on two occasions in the opening stages as Ashmoor began the game particularly well.

Their defence at the other end held strong, denying Bath’s penalty corner chance at the beginning of quarter two. Fletch Naisbett-Jones continued to make impressive solo runs but the Bath keeper was level to subsequent shots, keeping it goalless at the interval.

Shortly after the break, Ashmoor found the breakthrough. A great run along the left baseline from Charlie Brownlow was snuffed out by the goalkeeper, but the ball came out to Ashmoor skipper Jamie Bishop (photographed by Mark Lockett) who rifled in a shot to make it 1-0.

Ashmoor needed to build on this deserved goal, but instead they went to sleep and were punished. Paddy Walton saved well only for too much ball-watching to allow a free strike for the leveller.

Cathan Wherry and Bishop thought they had restored Ashmoor’s lead either side of three-quarter-time only for both goals to be struck off due to backstick usage. It just wasn't Ashmoor's day and the game finished as a 1-1 draw.

This result keeps Ashmoor in third place in the EHL West Conference which they can consolidate if they can keep up their excellent home record and win their final National League game at home to Chichester on Sunday. The match starts at 2pm in Totnes and supporters are admitted free of charge!

Ashmoor faced Dawlish this weekend in a top-of-the-table battle. With Ashmoor already earning their promotion, they were looking to keep their undefeated run for the season. The game was played with a high intensity from the get-go and Ashmoor fought hard with just the bare XI.

Dawlish managed to break through Ashmoor's defence to create a 1-0 lead. However, with some great attacking play and maintaining lots of possession, Ashmoor were awarded a penalty corner.

Excellently injected by Captain Jordan Wright, Emmy Buckman then slipped the ball to top scorer Tilly McEwen who fired across goal. Youngster Mary Moore then finished it off with a fantastic deflection scoring her very first senior goal and bringing the score to back to 1-1.

Just before half-time, with some more excellent play out from Ashmoor's defensive line, Buckman struck from the top of the shooting circle into the bottom corner to make it 2-1 to Ashmoor at the break.

During the second half, the Ashmoor ladies put in everything they had and displayed the resilience they've developed as a team. Despite some top-tier defending from Tamsin Sleep and Freya Beswick at centre-backs and brilliant saves from keeper Ella Reade, Dawlish managed to sneak a goal and the score ended 2-2.

Ashmoor kept their unbeaten record for the season after a well-fought game. Player of the match went jointly to Sophie Walker and Evie Lockett who were both key players in creating chances for Ashmoor and defending against counter-attacks.

This week Ashmoor's women have their last home game of the season against Tavistock & Launceston.