HEREFORSDSHIRE were un-able to reverse last season's defeat at the hands of Guernsey, going down 60-31 in a highly frustrating fixture in the English Counties League South West Divsion.

Playing at a neutral venue in Swindon, Herefordshire faced an extremely agile and physically imposing Guernsey squad and were never really able to assert any authority on the game.

In a first quarter, played at breakneck speed, Guernsey grasped a 15-10 advantage. Hereford's own game seemed to be all at sixes and sevens, and they had great difficulty moving the ball through the centre.

Luck was not on their side either, as numerous hard-earned tips and interceptions fell back into the hands of the opposition. An extremely skilled goal defence, coupled with a huge goal keeper, made life difficult for Hereford, whose usually accurate feeds were picked off all too frequently.

Hereford dug in hard during the second phase but were ineffective against the breathtakingly fast breaks of the Guernsey attack. Nicky Hill, Tracey Yarranton, Natasha Markham and Cath Firkins gave it their all in defence but struggled to contain their opponents, and the accuracy of the goal shooter proved decisive, with Guernsey scoring 17 goals to a reply of seven.

Some team changes in the third quarter saw a brief recovery for the Hereford side, as they secured a succession of goals, but this was short lived.

Guernsey responded admirably to the threat to extend to a 41-25 lead entering the final phase.

The islanders maintained the pressure through to the final whistle, claiming another 13 goals to Hereford's six in the final quarter.