In the Dog House….

Now, this is not my first dog related match report, my first came on a very rainy day in Peterborough (see the archives for that one). I can tell you now, that one was better. Maybe I've lost my touch, maybe I deserved that spot on the bench. (LOL, as you can tell, I'm still chewing on that particular bone).

Big chat at the warm up about being our best selves and bringing the BIG DAWGS and not the underdogs. 

*Insert generic first half, essentially chasing our own tails.*

Half time team talk was along the lines of: we are barking up the wrong tree girls and if we want to come out top dogs we needed to stop making a dogs dinner of it all. Let's stop hanging off and channel our inner canine: go chase the ball. 

That was the unleashing we needed. Second half we showed UEA what a dog eat dog world Div 1 is and bounded into action determined to be top dogs. 

Amelia showed real dogged determination in the second half, using her spaniel-like energy to get ahead of the ball. Tildy was always nipping at the heels of the opposition, putting in some big tackles. With Kerryn-the-terrier chasing everything. Our resident Labrador (the most reliable breed) was keeping everyone in check in defense which allowed Izzy and Sophie to start passing the ball around. CJ, and Maegan were hounding any UEA attackers ensuring turn over upon turn over. The beauty of youth was also having two mighty pups (paw patrol reference for those without kids) upfront who ran with whippet like energy and speed. We scored three paw-some goals from Tildy, Kerryn and Charlotte, which were all made from working as a pack. 

It really was a tail of two halves as the second half showed us who was destined to be best in show. KP had a quick word with the umpire, alluding to him he was barking mad, which meant he wagged his finger at her, but thankfully his bark was worse than his bite and no cards were given either way. 

Shower time, with showers fit for a queen and teas fit for a hound. 

With Emily taking home her Doggy bag and Women of the Match (Crufts best in show), it was time to jump in the cars and head home. Most were looking forward to this but I was in the dog house (again). This time for swapping cars at LR, locking the dogs in the boot, making Kerryn late on her league debut as captain to unlock the car, only not unlocking it, making Chris have to drive a casual 50 minutes round trip just to unlock it and retrieve the dogs. 5 hours later, tail between my legs I arrive home.

It was wonderful to see so many new faces to the team. I have tried not to call you dogs in this match report, as we would like you to come again! Please note, you will be assigned a breed once I get to know you a bit better. Amelia, you are clearly a spaniel. 

See you on Tuesday, to see if Tim can teach this old dog any new tricks. (Ariel preferred). 

It's bye for now, I'm off to see a man about a dog…