Even Stevens

Maidenhead 1 - 1 Henley
This week Maidenhead were expecting a challenging game against Henley, who we played a friendly a few weeks ago resulting in a loss of 4-3. However, Maidenhead, as always, consisted of strong and versatile players who, with determination, were ready to play Henley again hoping for a different result.
The match began with our maids players raring to go, with both teams immediately showing great pace and teamwork. Henley tried hard to get through our defence to reach the goal however with Elly, making her debut with the team, proving to be a very strong defender and Liz holding the opposition back and clearing many shots made, Henley were unable to get passed. Our attackers showed great pace and skills proven through many effortless runs and passes in the D. Claire used the width the height of the pitch creating space up-front to open up opportunities and was always in the right position to try and slip a goal in. Amy had many great runs and her passing created a number of opportunities at goal. Also, Jo proved to be a strong player and was very key in the battles up front with getting through their defence who were very strong. Henley had many short corners but with Charlotte's passion and the defences determination they weren't going to let any goals passed. Alexis had an outstanding game as she saved many goals coming from all different directions and showed she was a force to be reckoned with. Hannah got into space and had tonnes of exceptional and effortless runs and also scored the first goal of the match before half time! Maidenhead's confidence grew and when the second half began we were more determined than ever! Bryony was a very significant player who played both midfield and defence and demonstrated great skills against the opposition and also used the width of the pitch. Our captain, Debbie, as always had a great game and held the team together throughout the whole match producing slick passes which were vital for creating shots at the goal. Charlotte proved once again her love of the sport showing pure passion and determination resulting in tackling many players and creating many spectacular runs all the way from our half of the pitch right to the baseline. This opened many opportunities and the attackers were keen to score another goal. Gill showed herself to be a very versatile player since in the team she usually takes up the role of a defence player, however today, she played attack and midfield demonstrating flexibility. She also made excellent passes throughout the game and was essential for keeping the team together. Once more, Deia's enthusiasm and everlasting team spirit has not gone unnoticed. She showed great teamwork and made some significant passes resulting in close goals. Unfortunately for Maidenhead, Just as we thought we may of had a win in the bag, Henley scored a goal which made our team want this win even more. We pushed twice as hard and were unlucky to not score another goal with only a few minutes left. However, we proved again to be a very strong and tight unit and we know what we need to work on to improve and make us even stronger. Thank you to Fran for the great coaching and advice from the sidelines and to all of the parents for their support and encouragement. I believe Maidenhead, although we wanted a win, played a great match and each member is an example of an exceptional hockey player. We are now looking forward to our next game with more determination than ever!
Written by Issy Sellers :)