GU14 Wrens Return to League Action vs Spencer

GU14 Wrens 11 - 0 Spencer HC (A) 

GU14 London Tier 1 League 

Sunday marked the return to League action as a refreshed Wrens braved the trip to battle Spencer HC at their fortress in SW18. The rain held off as Captain Amelie marshalled her troops and led a military-style warm up that left General Fulker in no doubt that the Wrens were ready for battle. And then, with no more fanfare than the “peep” of the referee’s whistle, they entered the fray.

The Wrens showed no mercy from the start, establishing dominance early with Eva drawing blood in the first five minutes. But, undaunted by the Wrens’ fearsome reputation, Spencer refused to surrender. Battling hard in the demilitarised midfield zone, Spencer kept the battalion in white busy as they used strategic formations and synchronised movements to stretch the full width of the pitch. The Surbiton soldiers responded by engaging in rapid flanking manoeuvres that caught the home army off guard. Rosie, Isla and Marnie communicated seamlessly, executing plays with precision of a well-trained unit, whilst their relentless pressure forced the rival platoons into retreat.

The Wrens smelt the smoke of victory, Erin using her cluster munitions to advance into enemy territory and penetrate the Spencer D over again, feeding the ball onto Lizzie’s lethal reverse artillery. As the battle continued, Eva and Hattie manoeuvred to log hat tricks (or more) apiece. Gracie’s second-half mortar also found the back of the net, and a St George’s medal goes to Tileena for a cracking cruise missile from edge of the D that was expertly deflected into the goal by Hattie.

The Spencer team made spirited counter-attacks, but each move into enemy territory was ambushed by Emily who calmly disarmed the threat. Meanwhile, Poppy standing guard menacingly in front of the Surbiton goal was enough to scare off any incursions into her D. At the other end of the pitch, the player of the match was undoubtedly India in the Spencer goal. The Spencer No. 1 stood resolute against an onslaught of strikes, expertly executing evasive manoeuvres and countermeasures using sharp reflexes and tactical positioning.

Entering the final quarter, Spencer redoubled their efforts, but the Wrens deployed their deadliest weapons. Darcey, at first denied from a short corner, launched a kamikaze attack and cracked a ballistic missile into the Spencer goal. Moments later she launched another bullet into the Spencer D, which was expertly laser-guided into the goal by Izzy. With seconds left to spare, Elsa deployed guerrilla tactics: running the ball from the back of the pitch into the Spencer D and surprising everyone, particularly herself, by launching a final offensive on the goal moments before the final whistle sounded. The scoreboard left no doubt that this team had executed their game plan with military precision.

The Wrens quietly celebrated their victory and followed their sisters in the Eagles into the Supra League. But an army marches on its stomach, and so no time was lost as the adversaries put the battle behind them and shared war stories and match tea in the Spencer clubhouse.