Despite the wet and windy conditions both teams produced an entertaining and nailbiting game of hockey at Clifton on Saturday.

In the end a share of the spoils was just about right, although both teams will feel they had the opportunities to win the game.

The conditions certainly affected the opening exchanges which were rather uninspiring, and the first real chance fell to the visitors.

Tracey Willmore put in Natalie Haynes and although her shot beat the goalkeeper, the ball was prevented from going into the goal by a Clifton defender who cleared it off the line.

Chances were few and far between in the first half as both sets of players worked hard to snub out the opposing attacking threat.

In the second half, things got a little more lively and Chelmsford looked threatening going forward.

Kirsty Smith and Lucy Unwin both saw shots smothered by 'player of the match' Claire Burr in the Clifton goal and Willmore had a shot blocked on the line and hit the side netting.

At the other end Chelmsford had to keep their concentration at the back, and the experienced Tracy Goodchild marshalled her team-mates with confidence and Rachel Wells, Kath Fordham and Marie Arber responded superbly.

Despite Clifton having several promising situations, Katie Roberts was only called upon twice to make telling saves.

The game remained tense right up until the final whistle, and with both teams being evenly balanced and evenly matched the result remained in the balance until the 70 minutes were up.

Ultimately both teams were happy with a point, and although it was the type of game which could have been easily won by a single goal, both sides were happy to avoid defeat and pick up a point.

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