Having already defeated the Royal Navy 3-1, the soldiers headed into their clash with the Royal Air Force in confident mood, but the two sides cancelled each other out in a cagey opening quarter.

Cozens recorded the first opportunity of note in the second period as she fired narrowly over from a short corner. She then saw a penalty stroke saved by Cpl Kiera Hayman in the RAF goal as the score remained 0-0 at half-time.

The light blues missed a penalty of their own after the break as skipper AS1 Alex Naughalty’s effort crashed against the post, and they also failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage when the army were temporarily reduced to nine players courtesy of two yellow cards.

Back to their full complement, the Reds made them pay in the final quarter as Cozens drove into the area before firing a low shot into the bottom corner.

The contest was over moments later as the officer seized on a mistake at the back to emphatically fire home.

Their rivals applied some pressure late on, without creating clear chances, and the army held firm to claim the win and retain their title.

“It was a fantastic game, and the RAF are a phenomenal outfit,” Cozens said. 

“Getting on the scoresheet is great, but this has been a team effort.

“Heading into the final quarter it was about finding the gears to go through and if an opportunity arose, we had to take it.

“The girls have put in a massive shift. We played our game today and it paid off.”