Oxfordshire women ran out of luck as they finished fifth in the County Championship finals in Devon at the weekend.

It was the first time since 1996 that they had qualified for the finals, and they were optimistic of success after winning all their qualifying matches.

But the effects of travelling to Exeter on the morning of the tournament showed in their first match against Herts.

They were 3-2 down at the break, falling a goal behind in only the fourth minute.

Katie Merrick and Emily Malden replied for the visitors.

A second-half strike by Hayley Sawyer saw Oxfordshire take the lead, but Herts scored two more goals to secure victory.

The second game against Yorkshire was extraordinary, with a total of 65 minutes of stoppage time played - possibly a record.

Yorkshire took the lead with a freak goal, before Oxforshire equalised through a Malden penalty stroke.

However, Yorkshire went 2-1 up just before half-time.

In the second half, which was interupted repeatedly because of injuries, Leanne Grimsley twice went close to equalising, but Yorkshire held on.

Oxfordshire's opening match on Sunday saw them playing the reigning champions, Cumbria, who would guarantee retaining the trophy if they won.

An Ali Omell flick from Clare Appleton's ball into the circle saw Oxon take the lead after five minutes. Cumbria equalised with a well-taken opportunistic goal.

A poor umpiring decision when a penalty corner was given against Oxfordshire after the ball had clearly struck a Cumbria foot in the circle allowed the notheren side to take the lead from the resulting corner.

A driving run by Jen Johnson split Cumbria's defence and her powerful pass found Omell on the back post to apply the finish after Merrick had wrong-footed the defence with a great dummy.

Cumbria regained the lead when slips by two defenders allowed the attackers in.

Again Oxfordshire hit back - Mandy Hamilton-Martin was the first to react and scored after Appleton's shot from a penalty corner hit a post.

Cumbria regained the lead with ten minutes left from a deflection at a penalty corner, leaving Oxon to go down to third consecutive defeat by a single goal.

They concluded the event with a 5-1 defeat against Middlesex, who were to finish runners-up.

Forced to play without, Emily Malden, who injured her back in the Cumbria game, Oxfordshire were 3-0 down by half-time.

After the break, Clare Appleton's powerful shot found the bottom corner, but the umpire blew to award Oxfordshire a penalty corner and could not allow the goal.

Oxfordshire conceded two more goals, but didn't give up with Claire Collis netting late on.

Results: Oxfordshire 4, Herts 5: (scorers: K Merrick, E Malden, H Sawyer 2); Oxfordshire 1, Yorks 2 (scorer: E Malden); Oxfordshire 3, Cumbria 4 (scorers: A Omell 2, M Hamilton-Martin); Oxfordshire 1, Middlesex 5 (scorer: C Collis).