Winning start for promoted side

They were expecting a tough game against opponents demoted from the North Division but made a strong start, dominating possession in the opening 10 minutes.

Their hard work was rewarded when Adele Muff crossed and the ball was neatly placed into the bottom left corner of the net by Courtenay Fisher.

With confidence soaring, Halifax continued to advance and there were a few missed opportunities before Muff set up a second goal, finished with a reverse hit by Katie Shannon.

Driffield fought hard in the second half and Halifax were forced to defend.

Shannon received a green card for a poor tackle, leaving Halifax a player short for two minutes, and the visitors took their opportunity to pull one back.

That led to a nervy last 10 minutes for Halifax but the team worked hard as a unit to hold out.

A much-changed Halifax men’s first team left themselves with too much to do, losing 4-2 at home to Kingston-upon-Hull firsts after trailing 4-0 at half time.

New captain Andrew Kaye’s side went into the fixture without any competitive friendlies under their belt.

The defence was totally changed and took the first half to settle with Hull taking full advantage. The visitors scored twice in quick succession from rapid counter attacks and although Halifax eventually found their feet and created chances and earned multiple short corners, it came to nothing.

Olly James had a goal chalked off when advantage wasn’t played and Hull extended their lead with a traditional straight strike from the top of the D frfom a short corner.

After a couple of substitutions and further pressure, Connor Sutcliffe had a goal ruled out and Hull ended the half with another goal from a fast-paced raid.

After a rousing team talk and further position changes, Halifax looked solid at the back and were becoming increasingly dangerous moving forward. Sutcliffe got their first goal of the season from close range after his initial shot had been saved.

Josh Barron then converted from a short corner with a well placed effort in the bottom corner as Halifax took some positives ahead of a game against Bradford.

Junior and senior hockey reports in Friday’s ‘Courier’