Ladies 1’s:
Winchester 4–3 Maidenhead

The long road to Winchester, the first league game, and approximately 700 opportunities to ask the umpires questions…

The first league match of the season took us on the short trip all the way to Winchester, armed with a squad of 12 and the knowledge that hero Chants would be arriving fashionably late to bolster the ranks.

Pre-match preparations were, as always, highly professional. This included some extremely tactical boob-shaped drawings of the short corner set-up, because apparently that is how we communicate elite-level hockey strategy.

We got off to a slightly questionable start, with Winchester finding the net four times throughout the game. We can’t remember the order, and frankly, we don’t particularly care. What matters is that we kept battling.

Emma wasted no time making her mark on the game, picking up a green card after just nine minutes for asking the umpires some perfectly reasonable questions. Apparently, they weren’t interested in a Q&A session.

But then came the fightback.

Our first goal came from a Wales-outskirts short corner, with Sarah getting the crucial touch to bat it down and into the goal for her first Maidenhead goal.

We then came agonisingly close on several occasions, hitting the post twice.

The second goal came from some brilliant pressure and double-teaming in their defensive half. We forced the mistake, won the ball and worked it into Frankie in the top D, who absolutely beltingly smashed it home across the face of goal.

And then came the third — a thing of beauty.

A lovely four-pass move starting with Lucy at the back, flowing through midfield, before finding Sarah, who absolutely smashed it first time. Hockey. Proper hockey.

Despite the comeback ultimately not being enough, going from 4–1 down to fighting our way back showed exactly the grit, determination and refusal to give up that we’ll need this season. We may not have got the result, but there was plenty to be proud of in that second-half response.

And then, of course, there was Player of the Match Frankie.

Frankie was absolutely everywhere down the right wing, putting in some beautiful crosses, causing problems and capping it off with a very well-deserved goal. A thoroughly deserved MOM performance.

So, a long journey, a chaotic start, questionable tactical artwork, a green card, two posts, three goals, one very late hero, and a proper fightback.

Photography - Red Beard Photography