WH&E L1 1 : 1 East London W4
I don’t really remember the game if I’m honest. What I do remember:
- At least 3 of us got ‘rugby tackled’ to the floor…there was a miscommunication as to what sport we were playing
- The goalie seemed to full on body block Bethany to the confusion of everyone, including their own team…
- Abbi scored a goal, it was epic as we really didn’t want to lose…
- We kept messing up short corners…it’s OK Dom did the same in their game too….
- They scored some time in the 1st half. I have no memory of this….
We were annoyed, then discovered they were 2nd in the league and it made us happier. It was waaaay better than last time we played them.
WH&E M1 1 : 2 Ashford M2
The game started well with good possession from WH&E playing the ball around the back and swiftly moving the ball forward with some nice short passing, the opposition made a few threats but nothing we would worry about, especially the long ball they played that Josh came out of the D to sweep away, but passed it straight to the opposition striker (DOTD!).
After a bit of pressure and a few short corners needlessly given away, Ashford managed to convert from one with strike from the top of the D that caught us out when a stick deflection guided it into the back of the net, 1-0.
We reorganised at half time and the team was raring to go, growling with eagerness and purring from push back. It was all WH&E the 2nd half as we pressed for the equaliser patiently building in attack with some lovely passing and finally the goal came with a lovely strike from a penalty corner by Colin (who else) finding the bottom corner to make it 1-1.
WH&E continued to press for the winner with no real threat from Ashford, but with 1 of few attacks they made in the 2nd half it unfortunately came off Jake Ts stick and on to his foot on the goal line with a penalty stroke being awarded. Keeper went left, attacker went right, 2-1.
WH&E continued to press for a 2nd equaliser, forcing a number of penalty corners but with a couple of great saves from the Ashford GK it just wasn’t ours to be. Some really positive hockey being played where we were just very unlucky not to put at least one of the opportunities in the back of the net.
Well done to our young players Theo C and Tom P who showed yet again they are continually improving and in no time will be regular starters for the M1s team. And congrats to Dom P who put in a good shift today with a well-deserved MOTM award, he was definitely ready, ready, ready, ready for today’s game.
WH&E L2 0 : 4 Southgate W5
Despite a fairly warm morning, the wind blew as we got ready at Southbury to face local rivals Southgate. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but with the last-minute arrival of Mich the 12 of us were eager to get going.
And so we were off with an immediate climb to their D. Our press held for what felt like an infinite string of 16s, but sadly one managed to slip through taking us all by surprise. We stood there in shock as Southgate ran straight through into the D and, despite a great dive from Freya, got it to the back of the net.
We reset, ready to go again. The defence had woken up and got stuck into holding Southgate off. Par for the course, a penalty corner was awarded, which they completed by getting another goal.
The first half came to an end. Despite the scoreline our heads were up and looking towards the next half, supported by oranges from Mich.
The whistle blew and we got going again, determined not to let anymore in (spoiler alert – we did).
A masterful straight strike from another penalty corner saw them go 3-up. Freya, handling all they were throwing at her with ease as normal, made an incredible save with her stick, casually knocking it out the air and off the back line. The beauty of it left everyone stunned, with Southgate even leading the applause (as they were right to do so).
That save still in my mind, I can’t remember their fourth goal.
The final whistle blew. Despite the scoreline, we all had a great game. We hassled, pressed, and even made a few attempts at a goal ourselves. Let’s hope it works this Saturday!
No game for the M2s this week…