Petroc division one

Dart Totnes 2,

In hindsight, this was probably

a game too many for Dartmouth. The Dartmouth ladies looked a bit lethargic, a bit slow in closing down and the two games they had to play last week had drained them both physically and mentally.

Take nothing away from Dart Totnes, though – they knew they had to up their game against Dartmouth and they did just that. Dartmouth showed flashes of their usual skill, albeit intermittently.

Dart missed a couple of sitters in the first eight minutes and Dartmouth's right and left wings were kept busy defending – something they have not had to do the over the past few weeks. But it was Lisa Hunt who went close with a reverse swing, the ball just hitting the wrong side of the post.

That seemed to remind Dartmouth why they were at Totnes and, with good link-up play with Violet Miller, Sarah Barrett and Hannah Berry, Di Bradley, waiting by the back left post, smacked the ball past a defender and the keeper. That goal was all that separated the teams up to half-time. Indeed, Lucy Pillar had her work cut out to galvanise Dartmouth and remind her players that they were only

1-0 up and that they needed

more goals to put pressure on the opposition.

The second half didn't go according to plan, though, and within 12 minutes Dartmouth conceded. The Dartmouth ladies tried, but were unable to rally. They tried the left and right flanks and even tried to go through the Dart defence, but the home team was having none of it and Dartmouth just couldn't get the killer pass that has become habitual over their past few matches.

The killer blow came in the dying seconds of the full-time whistle. Dartmouth were adjudged to have had a high stick in the D and the umpire gave a flick penalty to Dart, which they duly converted.

Dartmouth should put this game behind them and bounce back this week, and hopefully Chloe Edwards recover from the concussion she received in the cup game last week against the same opponents.

Pillar will have to use all her management skills to pick up her team – a job she is eminently capable of doing.