Maidenhead U14A v Wycombe girls

Home Counties Girls U14 Hockey League
Maidenhead A 2 Wycombe A 0
Sunday 15 January 2017
By Jim Taylor
A COMFORTABLE victory over local rivals Wycombe was secured with two first-half, close-range goals, both scored by Evie, during a spell when we dominated the game.
This was our first match of the New Year and our first win in the Home Counties League after drawing at Buckingham and losing at home to Oxford Hawks.
In a display with plenty of positives all over the pitch, this was also our second clean sheet in all games this season and a good confidence-building performance.
We started brightly and after five minutes Maddy shot from a tight angle on the right which was saved by combination of keeper and post.
Next it was Captain Jade’s turn to shoot, forcing another save, before she then produced a lovely run and cross down the right wing which we failed to convert.
The first goal came after 11 minutes when we got the ball out to the other flank. Initial good work by left wing-back Anna ended up with a cross to the far post which was pushed back into the mix by Jade and Evie was in the right spot to sweep home.
The second goal, on 20 minutes, came from a short corner which came out deeper than expected. In a set-piece move we’d talked about before the match, Lucy was waiting to gather the ball and get it back in the D where Evie again converted her chance.
From then on, up until half-time, we dominated possession and territory but could not break down a stubborn, deep-sitting Wycombe defence.
After the break, normal service continued, at first, with Jade producing another fine run and shot while other chances fell to Evie, Maddy and Annabel.
The feeling was a third goal would seal the game, but instead it was Wycombe who nearly got back into the match with a breakaway attack. Fortunately, Keeper Maddie advanced to the edge of the D to make a brilliant one-on-one stop and follow it up with an emphatic kicked clearance.
From then on, although we were still in charge, we could not take our game up a gear to finish off the opposition. In fact – in the final quarter – it was us who suddenly looked tired.
Hattie and Zara, who had bossed the central defence throughout, started to be under more pressure. In midfield Emily (who was voted “man of the match” by Wycombe) and defensive midfielder Tilda, who was tremendous throughout, were running out of legs.
However, we held on, thanks to a couple more saves by Maddie and one shot that went whistling past the post. So, a comfortable win…but at the final whistle the Wycombe coaches were convinced they could have got something out of the game.
And that makes is really interesting, because, in three weeks, we play them again in the other Cup competition and Wycombe will be out for revenge!
Next Sunday the A Team Squad has training at Braywick from 10.30am-12 noon to work on our fitness, our finishing and how to move the ball better from one flank to the other.
The Development Squad has a home game in the afternoon against Amersham & Chalfont. Please keep an eye out for Pitchero messages and confirm where necessary.