Only 12 players available today (which is an improvement on last week’s 11!) and 3 of us struggling with injuries. We got slightly off the hook when Newmarket turned up with only 8 players, joined later by a 9^th. We welcomed more new players to the L6 party – speedy Fliss R-S up front, and Alice Mortimer and Annabel Jeffries working well and finding good positions in midfield. Initially South didn’t fully capitalise on our 2-man advantage. Newmarket, understandably, were playing a cautious and defensive game, and South seemed to be matching that, and perhaps not making full use of the space, so it took us a while to get our first goal in. We won a short corner, injected by Louise Walker and struck nicely by Nicky Simler. Initial shot was saved, but Louise managed to run onto the post and swipe the rebound in.

We made better use of passing around the back and using the width on defensive hit-outs. There were some great drives up the line by Claire Cormie making an appearance outfield, and Eleanor Moffitt on the other side. Selene Stoop had another great game in goal, although it was a more relaxed time for her compared to last week. A strong on-target shot by Nicky Simler forced a really impressive save from Newmarket’s goalie. A later strike found the target to put us 2-0 up. Georgia played really well in central midfield, despite battling a hangover

We held on to our lead to gain or first 3 points of the season – hopefully the first of many!