Sirens 2 - 1 Sunbury & Walton Hawks 4s (A)
By Tracey House
GK: Anne-Lise
Defence: Tracey, Victoria W, Emma H, Claire J, Kat
Mid: Tessa, Nao, Carmen, Claire T
Forwards: Victoria T, Sarah, Jenny B, Jackie
It was a glorious and sunny morning at Sunbury and Walton. The early start meant bodies and minds were on a bit of a go-slow. With additional support from Pumas players Kat and Carmen, and Sarah from B2H joining us for the third time (in her brand new kit!), we lined up, bumper-to-bumper on the pitch, ready for action.
Anne-Lise was jammed into the goal, with Claire J, Victoria W, Tracey, Kat and Emma H providing congestion in the D, meaning Sunbury were not able to score. The defence caused gridlock for the opposition, moving the ball cleanly out of the 23 and into the mid. Here Claire T was able to provide heavy balls up to the forwards, where there was movement and attacks on goal. Nao, Tessa and Carmen in the mid with Claire T avoided bottlenecks and hold ups with quick passing and using the width of the pitch to our advantage. The pressure from the forwards (Victoria T, Sarah, Jenny B and Jax) paid dividends when Victoria T was able to score. 33 mins and it was 1-0.
On the half time whistle, Victoria T had a chat with the umpire to clarify her earlier 'talking to'. All was sorted out!
Half time allowed minimal movement and a chance to wedge in together for a team talk. Oranges and jelly babies refreshed us and without delay we reconfigured on the pitch.
The sun continued to shine and the Sirens continued to push higher up the pitch, pushing for the second goal. Sunbury were also working hard on attacking, seeing Kat ending up on the floor in the D.
A dynamic surge from the back line, saw Nao crashing through the midfield. She was so quick it looked like she was flying, and she pushed the ball with perfection to Victoria T and for goal number two.
Sunbury upped the speed and pace and with a good cross-goal pass, they scored. 2-1. Claire T then decided to have a chat with the umpire about her back stick - to explain why it happened and she demonstrated what she was trying to do - luckily the umpire laughed with all of us! Sirens went into lockdown mode and we had to soak up the constant traffic of shorts and attacks.
Finally the whistle came. Clearly training had paid off for the Sirens because the win was like riding a bike - everything flowed and moved like a well-oiled machine. It was a good competitive game but no walk in the park!
Thanks to super supporter Suz who only took 12 minutes to get pitchside (to enjoy the sun whilst cheering on the team) but then took one hour and six mins to get home. Which was the story for most of the team due to the M25 closure - Kat won with a one hour and 50 minutes journey! Only Carmen had a smooth ride on the train from Sunbury.
Well done Sirens.
WWW (Wally Wig of the Week) went to Claire J who lined up for a short, and forgot she needed her stick - oops!
POM: Nao (just 'on it' for the whole game)