MATCH REPORT L1 v Henley

It was officially match one of the L1s’ 24/25 season in their new Division 3 league, facing Henley L2s. After expecting rain, the ladies turned up to a warm morning game with positive attitudes and raring to go on the newly laid pitch.

The game started well. Wootton put the pressure on early and made some strong advances into Henley’s D; however, the opposition didn’t take this lightly and showed us what kind of hockey was being played at a higher level. The team did well to keep Henley at bay with some strong defensive play and swift diving left and right from keeper Jade. But after a small mistake at the back, Henley capitalised and found the back of the net over the defender’s shoulder, making it 1-0 to the visitors.

At half-time, the key improvement was to steer clear of danger, trust each other, and pass our way around the opposition. As the second half started, we did just that.

Within minutes, young Ellie used her quick legs to dance her way around the defenders, staying calm and controlled, slotting the ball past the keeper and into the goal. We kept up the tempo, riding high on our early equaliser, and at a short corner, after some bouncing around from Easty and Ellie, Liv M smashed the ball in to make it 2-1 to Wanderers. 

The one-goal advantage was nice, but we knew we needed an extra goal to give us a comfortable safety net. So, with that in mind, Stabby and Easty linked up in midfield, making their way up the pitch before Stabby got the final touch and snuck the ball through Henley’s defence once again.

With the 3-1 advantage, Henley dug into their reserves and came back strong, hounding the defence with attack after attack. Although the Wanderers stayed strong and calm, Henley managed to clinch a last-second goal to make the final score 3-2.

MOM – Annie, for her constant hard work in midfield.