Ladies 4 vs Pellies

It had all the ingredients of a hockey “MasterChef” skills test: no subs (get well soon to all the poorly L4s, and no we don’t need the subs bibs Rosie you LoM), last minute car re-organisations, early-season fitness levels, and a loooong drive to Norfolk and back which of course took 1.5 hours even though we had hoped it wouldn’t and therefore didn’t leave early enough…. But as with any skills test, it just takes focus and confidence to succeed, and these were supplied by our newly anointed vice-captain Fi.  

We started with focus, passing cleanly to work the ball up the pitch, and tackling with resilience to recover the ball as needed.  Shree and Fi were fabulous as screens, with high work rates and awareness in all directions.  We were pretty dominating – Nooshi and Hattie really playing well - when about 10 minutes in, Hattie made a great pass into the D, which Naomi converted into a wonderful goal.  Overall, the first half was fairly straightforward, with Soph not touching the ball and able to chill out in the goal.  Naomi did unfortunately take a few tumbles and at one point was heard to remark “I couldn’t stop running so just fell over”.  Ouch.   

However, the second half was a bit more challenging, with the Pelican’s huge squad cycling through hordes of subs, whilst we relied on energy from the half time tangfastics.    Our mids worked extra hard to take the pressure, with Cat making some great turns on the left and Nooshi battling up the right.  The defence were determined to keep a clean sheet: Soph was suddenly wide awake and attacked all incoming strikes with huge energy and determination, earning her PoM.  New L4 recruit Tara was relentless in her tackling, recycling everything that came her way and more, earning her vice PoM.  And Martha was also unstoppable, whirling the ball away from attackers before they had a chance to get their shots away.  When we found a way back through, Kendra had a couple of 1-on-1s, but despite best efforts and the odd bit of football, the score remained 1-0 to South.  Skills test passed with flying colours!