As Ross Ladies Hockey Club battled through the heat and sand last Saturday (25th February), it was easy to imagine they were playing in Tenerife rather than Monmouth on a February afternoon.

Despite the climatic conditions, they overcame a depleted Badgers team to record their 11th win of the season.

In the first quarter of the match, Ross were unable to capitalise on their two-player advantage but somehow found themselves one-nil up following a reverse strike from Louise Cross at a short corner.

Ross continued to pressurise the Badgers defence with Becca Hayes and Steph Price working hard in midfield to feed the ball through to their forwards.

Eventually this pressure paid off when Clare Vines popped up in the circle and put a scorching shot beyond the reach of the Badgers goalie to give Ross a two goal advantage.

Undeterred, Badgers tried hard to break down the Ross defence, but to no avail, and they soon found themselves three-nil down following another goal from Cross.

Ross started the second half full of good intentions but their final passes were still letting them down and Badgers continued to press for a goal.

Ross eventually began to put together some good attacking moves, with Amy Bowen and Kate Cameron combining to win several short corners, which ultimately resulted in goals for Becca Hayes and Loz Stephens giving Ross a five-nil lead.

A nasty hand injury saw Badgers reduced to eight players but they continued to play free flowing, imaginative hockey and were unlucky not to snatch a consolation goal.

Eventually the final whistle came giving Ross the victory, but Badgers deserve credit for the fight and determination they showed throughout the game.

Ross train on Tuesday nights at 8pm at Monmouth School Sports Centre, new players are always welcome.