BROOKLANDS Poynton Ladies' firsts remain top of Investec Women’s Hockey League Conference North after a hard-fought 1-0 win at University of Durham.

The hosts had been unbeaten on home turf going into the game but it was Brooklands who started stronger.

After some frustration early on, the visitors took the lead through a cool finish from defender Charlotte Jackson.

Durham responded well and enjoyed good spells of possession without managing to break Brooklands down, some well-worked passing between Aine Curran and Caro Hulme creating several threatening moves down the left for the visitors.

In the second half, Brooklands again started the stronger and had two clear opportunities, one from a well-struck penalty corner strike by Ellen Lockhart and another just going wide following a burst of speed from Helen Turner.

It remained tense at 1-0 with both chances missed and Brooklands captain Jess Berry saw yellow for 10 minutes.

With an extended period one player down Brooklands played with their heads and maintained their shape and discipline. Durham were able to exert pressure but struggled to create clear-cut chances to trouble keeper Maud Lelkens and the win was secured to take Brooklands four points clear at the top of the league.

Next up is a home clash against Loughborough Students on Saturday.