Ladies book quarter-final spot in Irish Hockey Trophy

Ballymena welcomed back Sarah Gage on her return from maternity leave but despite creating a number of goalscoring opportunities, the match remained deadlocked at the interval.

The home side eventually opened the scoring early in the second half courtesy of a clinical strike by Becky Reynolds, from a penalty corner.

In an attempt to reverse their fortunes Monkstown commited numbers up front, but the Ballymena defence maintained their composure, ensuring that the visitors’ efforts came to nothing.

Ballymena weren’t finished yet though and with 10 minutes on the clock an inspirational piece of defending set the home side up to clinch the tie. The move was initiated by Clare Gillespie who carried the ball into Monkstown’s circle and her reverse pass gave Rebekah Reynolds the chance to slot the ball home.

Ballymena: E Leslie, G McBurney, V Hogg, S Morrison, C McCracken, J Duncan, S Goodrich, S Gage, A Hempsey, R Reynolds, A Logan, C Gillespie, L McClintock, A Logan.