Well that didn’t take long. This week’s LoM and match reporter is yours truly, Rhi; we will come on to the reason why even forgetting your shoes and being late to the warm up (Ellie), doesn’t get you LoM a little later on, but first a little bit of insight into the match.

With the sun shining it was a glorious day to be playing hockey. Everyone was ready and raring to show Royston’s L1s, what South’s L2s have to offer. With the team chat simple – focus on, pace, space and communication – the whistle went to start the match. South had a great start putting pressure on the Royston defence from the beginning with shots being fired from a variety of different players, but no luck so far in getting the ball over the line.

With Rhi taking the communication goal to heart, South were putting pressure on Royston straight from their sixteens. Some great runs from Rebecca, Laragh and Lucy along the wings enabled South to maintain the pressure and begin to open up the play. With some short, sharp passes the ball was back in Royston’s D and captain Dani made sure that her shot went into the back of the goal. One-nil South.

The opposition showed some strong skill and presented many threats on the break but the defensive line was solid. With Charlotte battling hard in the middle the girls managed to de-escalate the risk and reduce the shooting opportunities of the opposition. However, Bryony was always there for when the silky skills of Royston managed to work their way around to ensure that South maintained their lead. South’s second goal started with a wonderful drive down the wing from Lauren who went round the Royston defence to slip the ball back to Dani, getting her second of the game. Half time and South huddled in with their two-nil score line.

The second half showed many similarities to the first with South continuing to put pressure on the Royston defence and goalkeeper; another goal was inevitable, this time from Jess who added power to Rebecca’s shot on goal to get South’s third goal. Sam took her chances to show off her skilful play, but unfortunately her reverse hit was not successful this time; next time, I’m sure, will have a different outcome. Nic, Ellie and Grace maintained the defensive line with Aoife adding some great defensive runs to link to the midfield, all leading to South maintaining a clean sheet and finishing the match with a three-nil win.

Now, I missed a few details out of this, specifically why I have only managed until week 2 before getting LoM, Well it turns out if you think you are missing your right forward, you are probably not – it is probably you. Not the best start to the second half, adding to the already standard time on the floor: LoM was secured. With a great game MoM was close, with Nic’s defensive work getting her a couple of votes and Dani and Laragh getting votes too. But this week&#rsquo;s winner was Lauren for her fab running down the wings and assisting Dani’s second goal.

Another great game and a second win for the seconds, so on to next week where we face Nomads away. Let’s do it all over again!