Ladies 5s 3 - 0 Thame Ladies 3s

Today's match will go down in the annals of 5s history. Where legends were born, and stories will be told around campfires, no hockey teas, of the valiant battle fought and won! And win we did! Three nil to us!!

Thame was second from the top of the league and we knew it was going to be a tough match, especially as we were short this week.

We won first pushback and made the most of this with a great drive up the wing and into the D by Holly. She did exactly what we've been practising in Thursday training and went to goal, their goalie tried to get a foot on it, the defenders fumbled, and the ball sailed into the back of the net. For a moment everything stopped and it was at that point we realised we had just scored a goal in the first minute. I'm not sure who was more surprised us or the opposition?

Thame came back with a counter attack but our strong back line of team Jess, Helen and Jodie made sure TJ wasn’t tested too much. We had one attacking short, beautifully taken but just missing the mark and then a defensive short which was cleared quickly. Then we had a lovely run by Amelia who slipped it to Macy who then cracked it towards the goal as soon as she got in the D and it went flying in to the goal. Brilliant!

The opposition once again came back strong and TJ had to clear a couple and this lead to another defensive short. But Thame couldn’t find their target and we headed to half time 2 nil up!

The team talk at half time was a case of keep it up girls!!! It was also a chance to review our injuires with a few bumps from stick tackles!

And in the second half we did not let up, we were switched on and fighting for every ball. We moved up and down the pitch as a synchronise team and this lasted throughout the entire match, definitely a first for us. Are formation of Four Four Two meant we had a good defensive position and allowed us to attack more. Holly and Rippon tied up really nicely on the right hand side supported by Helen, when one went high the other dropped and vice versa.

Amelia and Macy kept the strength in the middle ground making simple easy passes to each other, which were very effective, and out of the wings allowing the ball to be driven up the pitch time and time again. Amelia had a couple of attempts on goal, they didn’t hit their mark but did hit a Thame foot. Their goalie had a tendency to hang high on the D and the girls made the most of this, drawing her out, Jess D slipped the ball to Amelia who made sure it went in the goal.

Thame really pressed us after this and pushing us, and we soon found ourselves having to defend for all we were worth. We had a couple of close calls in the D and one very near miss but the defenders really made sure the ball was cleared time and time again.

Jess W and Jodie made the most of their big hits pushing the ball high up the pitch. These balls were well received by our high forwards Maddie and Annabel, it was great to see the growing confidence in the D and The number of attempts they had on goal, and they were several. Thame and their goalie had tightened up the defensive line, but we kept on testing it right to the end.

Unfortunately their game did get very scrappy and there seemed to be a lot of stick tackles. It was during one of these that Helen seemed to take a nasty hit and went down with a large scream. Not one to scream we were all instantly concerned and it turns out rightly so! She landed on her right hand and has fractured it in 2 places. Shockingly we didn’t even get a free hit for a foul and Jess W took the bully off, whilst Helen received first aid from Caroline on the sideline! Amazingly she soon went back on when Jess W pulled her hamstring!

It was a great game with good play by everyone but Holly was voted Man of the Match for her wonderful goal and also playing in positions all over the pitch. Well done Holly!