With lockdown lifted South were raring to go for this game. We welcomed two new players to the L6 party, Georgia and Emily. Yet another new line up can be challenging but everyone fitted right in and it was another great team performance. South started strong, with Emily and Louisa driving the ball through the midfield for the forward to put pressure on the Ely goal. South took an early lead after some nice passes led to Bex receiving the ball at the top of the D and putting in a great pass for Naomi to score. One of Ely’s strengths as a team is not getting deflated by setbacks, and this fuelled their determination after the restart, as they began to put more pressure on South’s goal. Annabel had the opportunity to make some good saves. Georgia was undaunted at starting her first game as centre back, and had an excellent match with some well timed tackles and hassling players away. Ely managed to intercept a clearance across the goal and equalise. South were slightly rattled by this and play became slightly scrappier, but we quickly recovered formation and renewed determination to get another goal.

There were some fantastic driving runs up the line by Naomi – if short of a passing option she just kept going through opponents. Once again Bex was leading the press on defensive hit outs and putting pressure on Ely.

In the second half both teams were determined to take the lead. Energy levels remained high – good to see we’ve all managed to stay fit during the lockdown. As the end of the game approached, South remained determined but kept playing sensible hockey and ensured our opponents didn’t get through to score. An enjoyable match and a fair result – our first win can’t be far off.