GU14 Wrens Win on Midlands Roadtrip

GU14 Wrens 2 - 0 Stourport (A)

National Supra League Round 3

Hockey fans with an interest in the Birmingham Canal Network could do far worse than Stourport for a weekend break. Indeed, this historic West Midlands town, nestled on the junction of the River Severn and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, was the place to be as the Supra League rolled into town with Stourport taking on the Surbiton Wrens in Round 3.

With regular coach Will missing - rumours abounded that he was serving a one-match ban for sporting a North Face puffer on match day - it fell to veteran trainer Rob to come out of retirement and steer the Wrens through this tricky encounter against highly fancied opponents. Stepping off the bus after travelling half the length of the country, the Wrens were ill-prepared for Rob's vigorous warm-up routine - last seen in the 1990s - but there was no doubt that the players were firing on all cylinders as the whistle blew. 

Inspired by the success of the Eagles' elite set piece squad, the Wrens opened the scoring after six minutes with a penalty corner straight out of the training ground playbook. Elsa's injection fizzed to Darcey, whose rocket was lifted into the roof the net by Hattie. However, any thoughts of a flood of goals were premature as the home team closed the canal locks. The visitors - dressed in their familiar white/blue/green/maroon - moved the ball around the park with Marnie, Emily, Rosie and Carter all looking to stretch the Stourport players and find the gaps. 

The breaks were hard to find, despite the best efforts of Tileena, Erin and Isla threading the ball like a narrowboat through a tunnel. The home team defended like demons, with a stick flat on the floor at every turn, as Joycye, Lizzie and Gracie sought to break into the D. T However, the pressure was building and a second goal felt inevitable, with Elsa's run down the right leading to Hattie dispatching the ball into the net from the penalty spot for her brace. 

Eva's efforts in the second half were tireless, hitting the cross bar and being deprived of a handful only by the outstanding efforts of the Stourport defence and goalkeeper. As the match went on, the result seemed secure, but that did not prevent the home team giving the visitors a scare and Poppy pulling off a fine save as the game approached its conclusion.