A TOUGH game, played at frantic pace, saw Swindon stop the rot and pick up their first points in three games with a 0-0 draw against a very good Firebrands A side.

Only one other side had taken points from Firebrands this season, and a point was probably a good result for the home side, who failed to create a multitude of clear-cut chances.

Defensively, Swindon were strong and skipper Luke Cejer said: "Both Sam Monks and Thomas Hunt put in good shifts for us today and Lewis Dyer was crucial, saving two penalty corners in the first half as he picked both drag flicks out of the air as they were heading into the Swindon goal."

The Swindon midfield and front line worked hard to test the visiting defence but were limited to a couple of good chances for skipper Cejer late on, who failed to capitalise.

Yellow cards for Monks and Parsons meant Swindon had to be disciplined midway through the half, with goalkeeper Gough pulling off a couple of decent penalty corner saves, with the danger well-cleared by Monks and Hunt.

“All in all, it was a good result, which could have been better in the last few moments had Swindon been more clinical,” added Cejer.

“It was a fair result, we look to build on it with a trip to South Wales next week to face Bridgend.”

Ladies score four to stretch unbeaten run

SWINDON extended their undefeated run to six games after a convincing 4-0 win over Hereford. 

In a game dominated by Swindon possession, a win looked likely as early as four minutes in after Swindon took the lead through their captain Vicky Stokes.

The opportunity was well-taken by Stokes, flicking the ball into the net following some with clever passing between Claire Tyas and Linsey Wall.  

Swindon's second goal was as well-crafted as their first. More confident passing work in midfield and another accurate pass from Wall found Adriana Boullosa, who gave the Hereford keeper no chance as she slotted the ball into the corner of the net. 

Swindon’s third goal came just before half time when Hannah Lewis latched onto a cross and forced her way through a crowd of players and with a dive, smashed the ball into the back of the net. 

The second half played out with a repeatable pattern of Swindon pressure, with rare breakouts from the visitors, and only the bravery and skill of the Hereford keeper kept the score at 3-0. 

Eager to break the deadlock, Swindon’s players pushed forward and a skilful move by Claire Sage forced a penalty corner that led to Swindon's fourth goal. The goal was scored by Stokes, who deflected the ball from the strike from Chloe Lewis. 

After the game, Swindon captain Stokes reinforced the strong contribution of her defence after another clean sheet. 

She said: “It's easy for the headlines to be made by the forwards when you are scoring well, but our defence has been outstanding. We have kept four clean sheets this season and we are nearing four hours of hockey without conceding a goal - that is an awesome record.”