As the season draws to its close on a Spring Saturday, could the L5s seize survival from the jaws of relegation? Jan reckoned that might be possible as they “begin the process of final catharsis”. Not sure if he is mixing up his match previews with his counselling but, following two wins in 24 hours last weekend, optimism was high. Well, as high as it could be for a 10:30 start, which frankly is in the middle of the night. Who in their right mind plays hockey before midday, earliest? Certainly not Becky who was so asleep she meandered to Long Road instead of Wilberforce, cheerily swanning in just before pushback. Even that, though, was not enough for Lemon of the Match. No, that accolade went to Alex for thinking she was playing a combination of football and bowling, trying to kick the ball and knock over the oppo like skittles. Good commitment at least. And Avi shared the award, for the combined not bringing spare yellow socks for Polly, for being cautioned for swearing and for forgetting which side she was playing on. Now if only league points were awarded for lemon-worthy events, the L5s would be well safe by now, possibly pushing for promotion.

The match itself was a tightly fought affair and the L5s played well, challenging one of the lesser Cambridge sides hard all game. Harry and Louisa worked hard in mid-field, tirelessly pursuing tackles and passes, and there was some lovely channelling on the left and right wings. Rebecca, Avi and Lauren did some great work in defence and many beautiful clearances, and Selene’s speedy reactions saved us from several potential goals, for which she earned a couple of POM votes. It was a shame that we came away with a silver medal but that must at least in part be because the opposition came up with the cunning ruse of having the same names as most of our players which was very confusing. Nonetheless, the match was even (apart from the inconsequential detail of the 3-1 scoreline) and we had a good number of shots on goal. Unfortunately, in spite of our best efforts, none of them went in until the very end when we scored from the third (or was it fourth, fifth, or five-hundredth?), short corner after the final whistle. A paragon of perseverance.

Player of the match was Julie for some amazing interceptions and defending, without which the scoreline might have been worse. Bravo, team – good effort all round!