PENDLE Forest Hockey Club continued their perfect start to their first campaign in National Conference North with victory at

Cannock.

The visitors ran out 2-0 winners to pick up three more points and make it four wins out of four as they maintained their 100 per cent record with a solid performance in Staffordshire.

Usually slow starters, Forest started brightly and had the first chance of the game.

Good work down the left from Hayley Baines saw her beat two players on her way into the D, earning Forest a short corner.

Lisa Crewe stepped up with her drag flick heading for the top corner only to have it saved on the line by a defender’s outstretched stick.

In the ascendency, Forest didn’t have to wait long to get their noses in front however.

The visitors cut out a square pass from Cannock with Freya Bythell dribbling past her opponent, squaring the ball to Steph Bedford, who moved the ball onto her reverse stick side before slotting it home to give Forest the lead.

Not long after it was 2-0 to the visitors.

Thea Cormack intercepted the ball on the right and beat the Cannock defence, crossing the bell to Meg Murphy who turned her defender and smashed it past the keeper to double the advantage at the end of the first quarter.

After shuffling the pack as a result of Jan Cormack going off injured the second quarter got under way.

Cannock pressed with an extra midfield player and Forest had to absorb a lot of pressure with Laura Kendall in goal needing to make a couple of saves with her feet.

At the other end, a fine run down the right by Olivia Bythell resulted in a shot on goal that went just wide before half time.

At the interval Cormack returned to the field and Forest sent in an early aerial ball from Olivia Bythell which was picked up by Steph Bedford who showed off her excellent stick work, beating two players before seeing her shot deflected just wide of the post.

The game had turned into a competitive midfield battle with crunching tackles coming from both sides.

Cannock won themselves a couple of short corners and Kendall in goal made a couple of comfortable saves again with her feet.

In the last quarter Hayley Baines and Bedford had half chances, with a couple of short corners bringing saves from the Cannock keeper as Forest kept up their 100 per cent start to the new season.

Forest’s credentials will be put to the test in their next game on Sunday when they head to another side who have won all of their games so far, Sutton Coldfield.

The Birmingham side lead the early table on goal difference having scored 22 goals in their opening four matches and conceded just two.

Forest have scored 10 and let in two but are impressing at a new level after their rapid rise in recent seasons.