It may not have been as cold as PyeongChang, but Long Road was pretty chilly as we arrived for the first match of the day. A biting wind saw some St Ives players keep their hats on, but the hardy South girls were ready and raring to go…apart from Emma-Rose, who had forgotten to bring her mouthguard and needed a quick detour home while the rest of us warmed up…

It soon became obvious that both teams were charged up and determined, if only to keep their circulation working. It didn’t take too long for Izzy to appear on the score sheet, hitting a fantastic straight strike from a short corner: one-nil. The next goal also came from a short, being well worked around the D from Izzy to Mel, then back in to Izzy on the penalty spot: two-nil.

The game was defined by some great passing, including some pocket passes that Dave would be proud of. Everyone was working hard and making the ball work even harder, with play going round the back and some fantastic one-twos in the middle of the pitch. This was coupled with good talking and plenty of encouragement, both on and off the pitch.

The third goal was swept in by Kendra from a pass by Jess, after a pass by Dani: three-nil. By now, St Ives’ heads had dropped which allowed some really fun, attacking play! After some handy passing and a ball at height from Dani, Kendra knocked in a pretty good cricket sweep to take the score to four-nil. The final goal came after Ellie had a storming run up the pitch, all the way to the backline, where she popped the ball back to the penalty spot for Rebecca to knock in a great goal through a surely impassable gap between the keeper and the post – amazing: five-nil!

There was no giving up by South as everyone continued to work really hard right to the end of the game. It’s difficult to single out anyone, as it was a real team effort. However, special mention to the man of the match, Jenny, who was gritty and determined as sweeper and whose awesome persistence rightly earned her the MoM title. This was fitting as it was her final game of the season as she heads back to Berlin on Wednesday – we’ll miss her for our final few matches. Lemon went to Rebecca for running into the goalpost?!