Braintree 1 Colchester1

NE14HOCKEY East League

Division One North

Braintree 1 Colchester 1

Colchester fought back to earn a draw against local rivals Braintree on Saturday.

Braintree started strongly in what was to be an edgy first half for Colchester.

The visitors found themselves stuck in their own half for much of the opening exchanges as Braintree passed the ball around at pace.

With few decisions going their way, Colchester offered little threat to the Braintree goal until the last ten minutes of the half.

However, neither side could break the deadlock before half time with the score remaining 0-0.

The second half started as the first had, with Colchester working hard but getting penalised for 50-50 decisions.

Braintree's opener came from one such decision, a free hit outside the 'D', where Colchester failed to pick up Julie Hayhow who slotted away from close range.

With plenty of time still to play Colchester regrouped and tried to pass the ball around to create an opening.

The equaliser was to come from several pieces of individual skill, with Angela Cook surging forward from the half way line before laying the ball off to Lucy Struth on the edge of the 'D'.

Struth's pass through the Braintree defence found Louise Bibby who then dribbled around the Braintree keeper and walked the ball into the goal.

The Colchester relief was visible and, with little time remaining, neither side looked like being able to push once more for a winner. The score remained 1-1, a fair result from a hard fought game.