The morning of the 31st October started with a slight amount of chaos… which was unfortunately entirely self-inflicted. After managing to leave my car keys at work, with my hockey kit locked safely (and very unhelpfully) in the boot of my car, things weren’t exactly off to a flying start. Nevertheless, nothing was going to stop us! I arrived at the pitch looking somewhat dishevelled, only to discover that half of the pitch had seemingly disappeared overnight, hidden behind a rather impressive blanket of fog that had descended upon Cambridge.

However, the optimism of Cambridge South 3s took City of Peterborough 2s completely by surprise. While the rest of the world might have considered postponing, the 3s simply carried on as normal, seemingly unfazed by the fact that we could barely see the other side of the pitch.

Various innovative techniques were quickly deployed in an attempt to clear the fog. These included running laps of the pitch to “warm it up” (science was clearly not consulted), along with some rather enthusiastic and frantic blowing in the general direction of the fog. To some people’s surprise, none of these methods proved particularly effective, but somehow, much to Peterborough’s potential disappointment, the match was given the green light!

The 3s were set, warmed up and raring to go. Following a fantastic pre-match tactical team talk from Tess, Souths took to the pitch determined to hold their shape and make life as difficult as possible for Peterborough.

The 3s put in a fantastic display, repeatedly catching Peterborough out as they attempted to work their way up the line. With some brilliant play from Katie and Gemma, Souths kept their structure, showed off their skills and repeatedly forced Peterborough into knocking the ball off the sidelines.

Unfortunately, despite Souths’ best efforts, Peterborough managed to get the upper hand in the first half, putting five goals past us. However, our defence weren’t going down without a fight, particularly when it came to the short corners. Some fantastic runs were made, with a special mention to Louisa, who took on the challenge of running out number one with absolute ease. Cool, calm and collected.

But the first half wasn’t over just yet! Much to Peterborough’s annoyance, Souths weren’t finished. Pushing forward, the 3s made a brilliant break, working the ball up the pitch and getting it through to Hattie, who finished with an absolutely cracking goal! Cue the roar of the Souths supporters – you’d have thought we’d just won the World Cup! A brilliant moment and a well-deserved goal to get us on the scoreboard before half-time.

Heading into the break, the team gathered for a positive and encouraging team talk, ready to put their heads together and fight back in the second half.

The second half saw some fantastic defensive work, with tackles flying in and Souths refusing to make things easy for Peterborough. A particularly special mention goes to our Player of the Match, Libby, who was an absolute rock at the back. Smashing through challenges, putting in tackle after tackle and consistently pushing Peterborough back, Libby delivered a seriously impressive performance. An extremely well-deserved POM!

Unfortunately, despite the determination, teamwork and some excellent hockey from the 3s, the final whistle came with the scoreboard reading Cambridge South 3s 1 – 10 City of Peterborough 2s.

But were spirits low? Absolutely not.

Because, as everyone knows, the real competition was yet to come…With Halloween celebrations on the horizon, the 3s quickly swapped their hockey sticks for wigs and eyeliner. Cambridgeshire was about to be taken over by a rather large number of Claudia Winkleman lookalikes, as the Souths squad descended upon the Halloween social in full costume.

The hockey may not have gone quite to plan, but the Halloween social certainly did. And as for what happened next… well, what happens on Halloween stays on Halloween!

Final thoughts: A 10–1 scoreline, a pitch we could barely see, questionable fog-clearing techniques, one absolute screamer from Hattie and a team full of Claudia Winkleman impersonators. All in all, just another perfectly normal Saturday for Cambridge South 3s.

Bring on the next one!