Women’s 4s 2 - 2 Spencer 2s (H)
By Charlotte Stacey
It was a sunny Saturday at Surbiton and the 4s were set to play the top of the table Spencer team who we had lost to in the final seconds of the game earlier in the season.
For once I was early in an attempt to avoid the DOD conspiracies but that quickly went out the window when I realised I had forgotten my stick and was going to have to borrow one from Herbie or Jessie (not sure which).
The 4s set out for their warm up, after a quick team talk where they were practically run over by Lisa and I had a momentary lapse and forgot the names of some of my own team mates (sorry Carole!).
The first half started and stopped as the ball sounded wrong apparently and once underway, the 4s settled into the game withstanding the pressure from a high Spencer press and making some good attacks that eventually led to a goal as POM Herbie sent the ball across to Tegan who slotted it into the net. The game progressed and despite some interesting calls from the umpires, both teams continued to play some great hockey.
Eve made a great save on a Spencer flick which was awarded for some unknown reason, Swindell and Tegan made some great leads down the line for Lisa and Emily who ran rings around Spencer in midfield.
I threw my only successful aerial of 2026 and then quickly subbed myself off as my back collapsed. The first half continued with some great short corner opportunities and counter attacks as both teams tried to put away goals before the second half however, the 4s went into the second half in the lead with the score of 1-0.
More halftime wisdom from Herbie and sweets from captain Em and the 4s were back ready for the second half and a win!
The second half started and Spencer continued to press high, scoring two goals within the first ten minutes. The 4s regained their composure and continued to work towards the Spencer D winning lots of short corners, one of which Herbie converted bringing the score up to 2-2.
The backline did a great job outletting to the midfield and forwards, with Evie and Maddie building some great play from defence and making some great runs up towards the Spencer D. Charlie G made some great long passes through layers of Spencer defence, keeping us further up the pitch. Lara made some crucial intercepts and even earned a card (apparently that didn’t warrant any DOD votes).
Chandler was whacked around the head, which the umpires failed to notice before stopping time to ask, “Do you have a credit card? What's your pin number?” to check for concussion.
The final score was 2-2 and it was a great team effort against Spencer who will be moving up a league next season.