Cold but frost free - the early push back at long road was ideal for the 3s this week with lots of glorious sunshine to play in.

We started well - pressing well and breaking away - looking dangerous. Soon enough Maddy got a great shot away in the D that scurried under the foot of the keeper, 1-0, happy days.

However Bourne Deeping we’re by no means an easy opponent - and Emma and Tabby were battling hard in the midfield to turn them over and get the ball out to the wingers. When we did - Anna L was driving into the corners and passing into the D well - we struggled to convert. Their keeper just kept getting in the way… [Ed - uncalled for, what was she thinking?!?]

Fear not though - before long Steph managed to bag herself a goal and we had a nice cushion in the score line - but sadly one we couldn’t quite hold as the opposition then sneaked one in. 2-1.

This game was non stop - and everyone had to work hard for each other, tackling in pairs and clearing away danger. Lydia had some amazing saves - as did Ginny who cleared an on target aerial shot out of the sky with her stick!

We did brilliantly at winning shorts in this game - and Tiff had the best chance of them all a from short injection, but sadly we just couldn’t convert then. Lots of positives to take into training though - and with some work to tighten them up I think we’ll be getting goals from set plays in no times.

The 2-1 score line was just beginning to feel a bit scary when a cross into Tess allowed her to hit the backboard (after first hitting the keeper and then scrambling for a rebound…). 3-1 up for a short while until Bourne Deeping overwhelmed one of our 16s and snuck another. Credit to all the girls for keeping our heads up as the score stayed so tight - using our 3 subs the best we could and working super hard to stay ahead knowing a sideline break was never far away.

POM votes were wide spread reflecting this work rate - with Tabby and Louisa being picked out for their tenacity, Ginny for ‘hugging the line’ well and Maddy and Emma for their skill and distribution in the middle. Credit to all the defenders for keeping the threats to a minimum - great stuff from suzi and anne as per. Some chaos ensued with Hannah secretly falling and rogue LOM votes (without reasons that this author wrote down) clearly reflecting the sprinkle of carnage we get at every 3s fixture.

In the dying minutes Emily showed incredible skill and bagged a great final goal after being unlucky that a few of her reverse hits hadn’t crossed the line so far.

This sealed a 4-2 win for the team and a highly prized 3 points. Phew.

A great win - and huge kudos to the POMs, Louisa and Tabby and special mention to Ginny, Maddy and Tiff for integrating into the squad so well. 

LOM went to Tim for trying to teach us how to play inners and change up our formation 2 minutes before push back - maybe next time ay coach…