The Houghton girls returned to home action this week, welcoming Horden & Peterlee to Dairy Lane. Horden had teamed up for the day with a strong core of Darlington Mowden Park players including a number of Durham County representatives.

The game started quickly with Horden having lots of possession early up. Horden constantly carried at the Houghton defences but failed to make ground as the Houghton remained solid, led by fly half Georgia Massey who made numerous great tackles to stop the Horden on or behind the gain line and by Meg Riley, who's work rate around the pitch and at the breakdown was exemplary.

As the half developed the Houghton pack started to make there mark on the game. Superb carries from Alessia Skeates and Kirstie Gill combined with the excellent pod work led by Ellie Stothard and captain Charlie Purvis allowed Houghton to control territory and where now camped in the Horden half. Credit to Horden as they defended superbly for long periods of time but on 32 minutes Houghton made the first break through of the game. The Houghton pack carried up to Horden 22m line, with their forward pods working round the corner well. The Houghton carries had drawn in the Horden defence with fly half Georgia Massey then identifying space down the left hand side, switching play with a superb arcing run, that cut through the Horden defences and scoring in the corner. Houghton 5 - 0 Horden & Peterlee.

The half time whistle came too soon for Houghton who continued to press and dominate with the Houghton back line starting to flow with superb breaks from Jen Loftus and Summer O'Brien which were only thwarted by some superb cover defence from Horden.

Halftime - Houghton 5 - 0 Horden & Peterlee

The second half continued as the first finished, following an initial surge from the Horden forwards, Houghtons structured play continued to dominate. On 41 minutes, following multiple attacks down the left towards the Horden line, No 8 Kirstie Gill, who carried superbly all game, was held up over the line and the 5m scrum was awarded to Houghton. No 8 Kirstie Gill picked from the base and was stopped short of the line but the ball was quickly recycled and great hands from the Houghton Backs led to centre Summer O'Brien scoring in the corner. Houghton 10 - 0 Horden & Peterlee.

From the following the kick off the ball was taken by Frankie Bates who off loaded to Kirstie Gill who spotted the space behind the Horden defence and put in a excellent kick over through centre field. The kick was superbly chased by back row Grace Barron who kicked the bouncing ball through and pressured the Horden line resulting in a knock on and a scrum to Houghton only 8m out from the Horden line. From the scrum the backs attacked right with centre Jen Loftus being held just short of the line, but the Houghton pack recycled the ball and back row Grace Barron was on hand to crash over for Houghton's third score. Houghton 15 - 0 Horden & Peterlee.

The half continued to be an arm wrestle between the 2 teams but as Houghton tired, Horden's more experienced players started to make more ground as Houghton started to fall off tackles. Again Houghton's defence stood strong for long periods but eventually on 55 minutes, the Horden attack broke through to score their first try of the game. Houghton 15 - 5 Horden & Peterlee.

From the kick off Horden continued to pressure Houghton for long periods with the referee's strange interpretations of the laws frustrating the Houghton players. On 65 minutes through some heavy forward carries, Horden crashed over for their second try of the game. Houghton 15 - 10 Horden & Peterlee.

The final 5 minutes was a physical battle camped on the half way line as no team would yield. This was a testimony to the physical encounter the game had been from start to finish.

Overall an excellent performance against a very tough opposition that saw great work rate and commitment from all players.

Final Score Houghton 15 - 10 Horden & Peterlee

Player of the Match - Georgia Massey
Forward of the Match - Alessia Skeates
Back of the Match - Jen Loftus