In the final pre season match in front of the loyal balcony, the Ladies 1s newfound spirit brought them back from a 3-1 deficit to stunning 4-3 victory over last seasons 4th placed National League side Harleston Magpies.

The message from coach Ravi in the build up was clear; don’t concede and please score. Those words were promptly ignored as Harleston scored in 57 seconds!! With nerves setting in after such a slow start the team started to build well from the back and equalised through Zoe Ramsey who revere edged the ball into the back of the net.

The rest of the first half saw us not only battling against the Magpies defence but also the London weather and torrential rain. Ravi delivered another inspirational team talk and we immediately let in another goal!! magpies had a dominant spell and were soon 3-1 up.

Captain Wales used her new powers as captain to point out a clear foot in the D by Harleston and a perfectly executed short corner led to Wales first goal of the match. Suddenly the balance of the game shifted. A bit of hesitation in the Harleston defence meant O’Connel and Wales were able to work the ball round the keeper, bringing the score to 3-3.

Time was running out. The whistle was about to go when Southgate won a last minute short corner. An opportunity to seal the deal!!. Another perfectly executed routine led to a Wales hat trick and celebrations from the adoring fans ( A.K.A Boris the Dachshund )