The Cougars mixed side travelled to Lipson in Plymouth for their second fixture of the summer season against a young new side, the Marjon Eagles.

Arriving early to avoid road works the Cougars used the extra practice time to run through their short corner routines. From pushback the game immediately had a fast pace and competitive edge with both sides attacking aggressively with good passing movement.

Play moved from end to end through the well contested midfield with Marjons the first to break the deadlock following a defensive mix up in the Cougars ‘D’, their centre forward driving onto a loose ball and slotting home from close range to take the lead.

The Cougars dug in & counterattacked well, with Sam Holdsworth powering down the right flank and delivering great crosses and Chris Guard nearly breaking through onto several long aerial balls. Bex Darke linked well in midfield, tackling strongly against the Marjons male centres and not giving them any quarter.

Turning around at half time the Cougars were given an inspired team talk by Captain Mikey Dennis and took to the field ready to pressure the Eagles for the remaining thirty minutes. New forward Will W-Symons broke strongly down the left and looked keen to follow up on his debut goal of last week.

Starting well through the middle of the pitch by closing down the two main playmakers for the Eagles, the Cougars started to spread the ball wide and create chances. Vice Captain Chloe Harvey had led the charge down the left, subbing with Sarah Cullen who proved more than a match for her opposite number.

Nic Bowes came on for Darke and in a fantastic passing moved found Guard at the top of the Eagles ‘D’, his short pass to Helen Symons and her cheeky reverse stick slip gave Holdsworth a clear goal to slot in to from a tight angle to level the score.

Marjons came right back at the Cougars but could not break through the solid defence of Jones, Read and Squires. Jones blocked anything which came her way and Read was on form, driving out of the danger zone and clearing the ball upfield with some great passing.

Keeper Tony Paul was on top form making several key saves and charging off his line to take a lifted ball to the chest and clear solidly when under pressure. The tenacity of the KS defence allowed them to take the game to Marjons and in the closing stages Guard had a powerful shot deflected just wide, closely followed by a strong break which saw Holdsworth fire just wide in the closing minute.

The game finishing with an even draw saw the Cougars unlucky not to snatch a late win, which bodes well for the coming summer season.