BHC Ladies' clinched promotion and their second league title in the space of two seasons with this hard-earned win over Southport.

BHC went into the game with some confidence having beaten their opponents 6 - 0 at their last meeting.

However, they were missing some key players through injury and it was clear from the start of the game that Southport were determined to gain revenge, and they were the better team for much of the first half.

The BHC defence battled hard against this onslaught with some good work from Robyn Smith, who was solid for the entire game in central defence.

Eventually the ball was moved up the field on a break with Jenny Cocker using her explosive pace to set Vicky Hirst up in the area for a shot saved on the line by a defender's foot. Hirst stepped up for the resultant penalty flick but put the shot wide.

Despite this, the momentum began to swing BHC's way and after a sustained period of pressure at the end of the first half they were awarded a penalty corner.

The strike from Fiona Holdsworth was going wide when Cocker nipped past the defence to deflect it in and give BHC the lead going into half time.

The second period was end to end as Southport fought furiously to get back on level terms.

Southport were unlucky to lose one of their players to the sin bin, but despite their best efforts, BHC were unable to capitalize on the advantage.

In the end, neither team were able to hit the back of the net in the second half.