Match Report : Florence Watkinson

RESULT : W3s 3 – 0 Richmond 2s

This weekend saw the 3s trek along the A 406 to Chiswick (or the M4 if ur a moron…). Before Saturday even arrived several obstacles had already proved problematic, firstly we were visited by a fox gate crashing our training sesh on Wednesday, secondly due the nature of Britain’s latitudinal position a frozen pitch saw our weekly meeting cut short, and finally in true Florence fashion I had left my astros in Kent. 

I can’t comment on anything between meet time and 11:00 as naturally I was half an hour late… traffic… However upon my arrival it was a pleasant surprise to discover that Lucca had joined us for moral support and coaching other teams could only dream of. As we began to warm up the team was looking fierce, especially in contrast to the oppo as they were too consumed by a football match occurring 100m away, nonetheless we were ready. Or at least we would be after I had removed my pjs and fluffy sliders. Now we were ready. 

After a solid warmup and an inspiring chat lead by Cob the team assembled on the pitch, our subs prepared to freeze their (anatomical reference I’m not sure if i can use… tits) off. Our first five-ten mins were somewhat shaky with a couple of missed receives leaving the goal open and resulting in a lot of hard work from the defense yet we held strong and luckily nothing slipped. Eventually we found our stride and to be honest I was slightly baffled, the transfers were absolutely chef’s kiss and some strong control from Ellie and Lily at the back saw our defensive line impenetrable, Liv had several successful feeds into the D, however unfortunately the pesky post tap in was just not happening today and we missed some opportunities. Following some questionable umpiring and spectacular work from the forwards we won our first short corner of the match and in the final play of the half nailed our first goal securing a 1-0 up advantage in the first half and making Michelle a very happy bunny . 

The second half began, our canary clad umpire giving a thumbs up and we were off… Some nifty work from Maz and Niamph in the midfield enabled the forwards to have a couple of chances, prevented from bringing a result again by the post player tap in thing (potentially something we should visit in training?). At around 15 mins into the second half Richmond woke up and began their counter attack, however this was absolutely no match for our teamwork and utilisation of the KISS method (keep is simple stupid) their attempts of sabotage against (Liv seeing her removed form the pitch after a minor head injury) (Liv is fine, fear not) were in vain. This just goes to show how dangerous we are as a team when we work together and play good, strong, simple hockey. From this stint of uncertainty a transfer from Meg in the bottom left corner, up to Ellie, across to Enrica, and up to  Lottie, allowing her to make an exceptional run into the D and despite missing the goal with her shot, winning a short corner for her efforts. It was this short corner which brough Julie her own personal victory as she secured our second goal and giving us a stable 2-0 lead. The final ten minutes felt very tense, considering our lead, but props to them for their “dedication to the game” (quote taken from the dialect of Mim) their emotions seemed to get in the way of their play as they became increasingly sloppy through their selfish play, avoiding passes, this allowed Hillary to take advantage of their lapse and grab us another cheeky goal, making the score 3-0 to us. The jig seemed to be up but in the penultimate minute we became incredibly offensive with almost the entire team operation in the opposition’s 25, this was not ideal as Ellie found out as she made the long long run back down the pitch with an attacker, hot on her heels for a split second I thought Ellie might attempt a rugby tackle on her, alas she did not, leaving me, the final line of defense to deal with the issue. It may have been pure luck the way I slid and made contact with the ball, however I will be referencing it as skill. The whistle blew. 

Victory Was Ours. 

A big well done the whole team today. I am immensely proud! As well as a thank you to Kokky for the support and Lucca for his presence! 

Over and out:
Florence