McWilliams injury mars Carrick win

With the match still scoreless at half-time, Carrick had taken the lead early in the second half when Melissa Taylor neatly slid home her third goal of the pre-season.

Lisnagarvey showed little sign of getting back on level terms against a highly disciplined Carrick defence, but the McWilliams injury then clearly unsettled them as they conceded an equaliser just shortly after the incident. Similar to the previous week’s late win against Larne, Carrick once again dug deep however and Emma Nichols was on hand to strike home in the very last second of the match, converting a penalty corner play for Carrick.

“It was an excellent result against an experienced Garvey side,” said Carrick president Peter Stevenson late on Saturday evening, “but understandably our post-match thoughts were completely dominated by our concerns over Natasha McWilliams’ injury. She fell awkwardly on her ankle during what appeared to be a fairly innocuous tackle and it was immediately obvious she had suffered a serious injury.

“Our coaching staff Neil McConnell, Gary McIlroy, and Hugh Mills together with the officials at Lisnagarvey did a great job of attending to her both on and off the pitch and the paramedic rapid response vehicle arrived very quickly at the ground.

“Natasha was then transferred by ambulance to the Lagan Valley Hospital.

“Not only will the injury be very disruptive to Natasha’s day to day life, it also came at a time when she’d very much played herself into contention for an exciting return to our first team squad after being a member of last season’s league championship winning 2nd XI team.

“She’s had an excellent pre-season with us. But hockey considerations are of course secondary at a time like this and everyone at the club would like to pass on their commiserations to Natasha and to wish her a full and speedy recovery.

“Her fighting spirit and attachment to Carrick Ladies is really amazing as in spite of the pain and discomfort she must still be in, Natasha has already been in touch with us expressing her extreme disappointment at missing out on the new season but promising she’ll be coming along to support the teams as soon as she possibly can.

“We’ll most certainly be looking forward to that Natasha,” added Peter.