LOCH Lomond Hockey Club endured another tough afternoon at the office as a squad with only 10 players lost 5-2 away to Stepps II last weekend.

Playing an entire match a player short is always tough – and the situation worsened after five minutes when midfielder Megan Glover pulled up with a hamstring injury.

Down to nine players, Loch Lomond fought valiantly but went 1-0 down from a penalty corner which saw two defenders break early and sent to the halfway line.

But the visitors refused to buckle and their efforts paid off five minutes later when defender Zoe Canty found Paige Scherius with a quickly-taken free hit, and she picked out striker Gillian Finch to sweep home the equaliser – fitting reward for some great skill and beautiful passing play.

Glover returned to the fray for the start of the second quarter, though her injury meant she could only play in the offensive D – and Loch Lomond fell behind for a second time after Stepps broke forward with six attackers against just three defenders.

Loch Lomond played plenty of nice hockey, but some unfortunate decisions, along with several unconverted corners and one agonising moment when the ball ran across the Stepps goal-line in slow motion but with no attacker able to flick it home, were penalised when the home side added two more goals before half-time.

The visitors stepped up the pace in the third quarter and created a second goal very similar to their first: again Canty’s free hit found Scherius, who picked out Finch on the far side to tap the ball into the D and bury it in style.

Stepps added a late fifth goal, but despite the result it was a great team effort by the depleted Loch Lomond squad, with determination shown by all and leadership and good guidance provided by Canty and captain Eliza Ritchie.

Florence Saunders and Niamh Barrie worked very hard to break up several Stepps attacks, and also made several sensible passes to move Loch Lomond forward, while the defence of Canty, Caroline Lyall and Jess Halifax – the last of the three making her Loch Lomond debut – did a very good job in the face of Stepps’ pressure.

Keeper Anne McGregor made several good saves to keep the score respectable.

Ritchie and Saunders shared the player of the match prize, with Scherius and Finch joint runners-up, while Scherius was also chosen by the hosts as their opposition player of the match.

Thanks to Morris Kelly for umpiring and to Ozaki Custom Conversions for kit sponsorship.

Squad: A. McGregor, C. Lyall, Z. Canty, J. Halifax, M. Glover, P. Scherius, G. Finch, F. Saunders, N. Barrie, E. Ritchie (captain).

Training takes place every Tuesday from 7-9pm at Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School in Dumbarton. New players are always welcome .

Loch Lomond return to home action this Saturday, October 29, against Uddingston 4 – hopefully with a full squad to choose from.