This Saturday saw the South Ladies’ 2s head west to Bedford to take on their L3s side. After battling our way through some tragic scenes (the traffic or the town, I’ll let you decide), we arrived on site, ready to go. South won pushback but were to swap ends due to some (non-existent) sun.

The South ladies started strong but were met with an eager Bedford side who were equally up for the challenge. Play bounced from yellow (not purple, definitely not purple) South sticks to maroon Bedford ones like a game of tennis, neither side able to convert play into anything meaningful. South had some excellent periods of play, with great triangles and passing from the likes of Jess W, Charlotte and both Dani’s but still couldn’t convert. The backs also had some stellar play (if I do say so myself), headed up by Player of the Match, Grace, who absorbed endless amounts of pressure and outletted like you wouldn’t believe. Apart from a singular defensive short corner, the first half ended relatively uneventfully.

The second half started with South playing with a bit more purpose and looked a lot more threatening, on and off the ball. After a few near misses by South a successful attempt on goal finally materialised in the form of a saved shot from Izzy, picked up by Dani A to a perfectly placed Jess Ford, who pinged it behind the keeper! (Insert Queen emoji here, or salsa girl, depending on how you’re feeling).

Play continued relatively equally for most of the second half. Unfortunately, Bedford fought their way back in the form of a short corner in the last three minutes, slotting it behind goalkeeper Louise from a well-struck hit from the top of the circle. South battled on til the last dying seconds but weren’t able to find that winning goal, leaving the game as a one-one draw. Overall thoughts: much like my school reports - some good, but could do better. The score leaves South ready for Bedford’s return fixture in Long Road in February.

LOM - Nichola for providing the crowd with much entertainment for inadvertently passing the ball back to herself via the fence, rather than passing it to the player taking the free hit.

POM - Grace for A+++ defending and never backing down.