NEWLY-PROMOTED Beckenham Lacrosse Club opened their Premier League account in some style with a comprehensive 15-2 win against rivals Purley.

They started with a bang as Hollie Harrington won the first draw, passed to Sophie Brett who outpaced the defence and found Helena Brett in front of goal where she finished clinically within five seconds.

The pattern of the half was set with the young Beckenham side showing too much pace, precision and poise to let Purley have a sniff of the game. The power and timing of Harrington’s runs was a feature and persistent thorn in the Purley side, but she wasn’t alone as Cunningham’s intelligent movement repeatedly stretched the defence to breaking point.

Beckenham turned round 7-1 ahead, but unexpectedly switched off for the first 20 minutes of the second half.

Their passing precision was lost and they started to turn-over the ball, giving Purley the opportunity to get back into the game.

Goalkeeper Mills made some sharp saves and Monaghan, Nevard, Small, Day and Freya had to work hard to prevent Purley scores.

A time-out and some fresh instruction from captain S Brett set Beckenham back on a steady course and they started to control the pace of the game again, keeping possession with controlled passing rather than turning ball over to their opponents.

Davis won ground ball, Steel distributed effectively and Saville was a crucial link between defence and attack.

On another day Helena Brett would have had a hatful of goals, but she was stymied by an impressive display from the Purley keeper. Beckenham’s scorers were Helena Brett (3), Sophie Brett (3), Harrington (4) and Cunningham (5).

Beckenham travel to Hertfordshire this weekend to compete in the east clubs and colleges tournament.

They will lose eight of their players to Kent under-19s, who will also compete in the same tournament.

Beckenham play at Old Elthamians in Chislehurst and train on Wednesday evenings in Tonbridge.

For more information on the club, or to get involved, call Pippa Nevard on 07956 407463.