This weekend, the Ladies 1s played their last away fixture before the Christmas break as they made their way down the M40 to play Abingdon Ladies 2s.

The game was highly energetic; both teams played with high levels of pressure, and as Abingdon brought speed in their legs, Wootton responded with strong passes and ball play. Plays were successful at either end, but no goals were gained. The Wanderers’ defence worked hard to keep our goal clean, and the young Abingdon GK took on a barrage of shots from our forwards, especially Sophie and Mason.
Once again this week, the defence felt they couldn’t do much more, and our PC defence routine shone. Abby made some last-minute line saves on the post, and Annie shut down the top forward with her number 1 runs.

At half-time, we were positive, with an overall team input along with the usual stern words from manager TB.

The second half brought more of the same but with a feistier energy. As a draw loomed, both teams switched on their afterburners, looking for the first goal of the game. Shots on goal at either end became more numerous, and the saves became uglier. Neither defence wavered, and it became a game of whose energy would drop first. With six minutes left on the clock, Easty skillfully dribbled her way into the D, spinning around and hitting the ball on her reverse, which found its way through the keeper and finally gave the Wanderers the advantage.
With our eyes on keeping the win, we parked the bus at the back. Abingdon released their pressure, and the last few minutes were pure Wanderers possession.

MOM was joint this week, split between Abby and Annie for their brilliant work throughout the game