Sunday brought the second half of our double-header weekend for the L1s, facing top-of-the-league Henley.

Henley showed their home advantage by bringing a full squad of fit youngsters, but the Wanderers brought consistency and experience to counter this. Although Wootton worked well to keep possession of the ball, the majority of the play was defensive, battling multiple attacks throughout the first half, including a goal-line save from Amy to keep the scoreline at 0-0 before the halftime whistle.

Although the Wanderers were tiring, we knew we could hold our own, and with discipline and patience, we had a chance to hold Henley back from a win.

The second half echoed the first, with pressure levels increasing from both teams. Wootton started to string together passes and move into Henley’s half, putting their keeper to work. Henley maintained their energy, battering the defense until Vicky put her body on the line, leading to Henley winning a lucky penalty flick. GK Jade stretched all the way to the bottom right, reading the flick perfectly, but Henley’s strong players were beginning to control the game, and the ball crept in to give them a 1-0 advantage.

With time still on the clock, Wootton’s attacks didn’t waver and began to build momentum down the pitch. In the opposition’s D, the attackers found an outcome, and a short corner was called in our favor. Taking no prisoners, Julie smashed the ball into the bottom corner as cheers erupted from all the girls. The two-minute signal was given; both teams pushed, but the final whistle blew, and the Wanderers had held the top team to a draw!

The defensive stars today—Amy, Abbie, Steph, Connie, and Vicky—drew on yesterday’s outstanding performance and worked extremely hard with GK Jade to come away from Sunday’s tough game with a point.

And Steph finally took MOM all to herself for her consistent hard work and commanding play at the back!