Women’s 6s 2 - 3 Old Cranleighan 2s (H)
By Fee Fitch
Some might say playing at 5.30pm at home is tough, too much time to faff around and prepare for the game, yet some still manage to forget key hockey kit! Big thanks to Jane for coming to the rescue!
The W6s needed three points (ideally) to take us out of the relegation zone. Our masterplan wasn’t quite executed in the first 35 minutes when we found ourselves 2-0 down against our local rivals OCs 2s. They were already guaranteed promotion finishing second in the league but were out to prove a point, whatever! We were playing decent hockey, not always linking up as well as we can but we had our chances, especially short corners, but the goals just didn’t come.
The half time chat focused on the need to be a little more supersonic, rattle the oppo, put them under pressure and don’t allow them to run the lines as they were pretty rapid. Soon we would convert one of our chances. As coach Kieran mentioned we score around one in six from PCs (or was that one in 16?), so we need to get more outcomes in the D.
From the whistle, little by little we applied pressure on their keeper and were soon rewarded with a PC which Ffion scored with a great strike, nicely nutmegging the keeper. We didn’t let OCs slide away and our defence worked tirelessly to prevent them scoring again. The team fought hard, kept the work rate up and didn’t fade away from the challenge. Soon Taryn scored the equaliser with some champagne supernova attacking hockey.
The score remained at 2-2 for some time during which OCs got more and more rattled, mostly with themselves until one of their players lost their rag completely and took out her frustration on one of our players, screaming in her face, for no apparent reason. A green card was awarded (was it a yellow, do you acquiesce?) and we had the advantage for the next two minutes. Sadly we couldn’t find the winner. Annoyingly, despite our wonderwall performance, OCs found the back of the net to take the lead.
Time was sadly against us as the final whistle blew which has left us in a must win situation for next week’s game against Barnes 4s. Whoever wins, stays up.
Whatever happens, we will not look back in anger. We are going nowhere. Next week the W6s will step out determined to win and stay in this league. “It’s not over until the fat lady sings”!
Final note, superb play and huge congrats to Leia for taking Player of the Match. Now nicknamed The Pocket Rocket.
p.s. how many Oasis songs did you recognise in the report? I‘ll buy the winner a pint at next weeks social. Answers to Fee Fitch.