IT was a frustrating day for Tynedale Ladies as they went down 4-0 at home to Morpeth Seconds in the Northumberland A League.

Despite the scoreline, the home side had their fair share of possession, and created plenty of chances, but it was the visitors who turned their opportunities into goals.

During the first half, Tynedale demonstrated some effective distribution in the wide areas, with Immie Pearson impressing. This enabled Sue Crawford and Alison Westworth to provide ammunition for the attack.

The defence, led by the strong flat stick tackling of Sarah Martindale, and supported by Katy Brown and junior May Thomas, held off the Morpeth threat for most of the first half.

Tynedale conceded penalty corners but defended them well, with goalkeeper Nicky Baguley making some crucial saves.

The hosts also had penalty corners of their own, but were unable to find the target.

Morpeth finally made the breakthrough when an attack down their right found an unmarked player, who shot the ball firmly into the corner.

The Morpeth second goal started with a good save from their keeper, with a great solo run from deep into Tynedale’s defence and a strong finish, which made it 2-0 to Morpeth at the interval.

The second half saw Tynedale launch several attacks on goal, with Lizzie Scott continuing to drive strongly down the pitch with Naoimi Garner in support.

However, Morpeth were awarded a penalty flick which they converted confidently, to put the game beyond Tynedale on a day which simply didn’t go their way.

The visitors’ fourth goal came from another attack down their right, followed by a clever slipped pass across the goal which laid the ball on a plate for the Morpeth attacker to score.

Central defender Lorraine Bell was named Tynedale’s player of the match after a stand-out performance, during which she tackled strongly, distributed possession out wide effectively, and continually closed the play of the opposition down. There were many positives for Tynedale.