U18 girls v Reading

England Hockey Cup
Maidenhead Girls U18s Elite 2 – 7 Reading
Sunday 1 November 2020
By Jim Taylor
Top Tier hockey is proving to be a bit too hot to handle for our girls right now after another heavy defeat to those Reading rivals down the A4.
There is no question we can’t compete at the highest level, but only when all the team play flat out, 100 per cent, all the time…and that is hard work.
Today was another prime example – we were punished for a sluggish start and giving Reading too much time and space and were 2-0 down inside six minutes.
But then, as we have shown in every game, we can buckle down and fight back. Once we stopped standing-off and went toe-to-toe with the opposition – especially in midfield - we started breaking up their play and building our own attacks.
With Emily prompting and Yasmin in full-flight we created problems down the right wing, Maisie was tireless up-front and Lucy provided strength and skill in midfield.
After our shaky start, the rest of the first half was pretty even as we built pressure on the Reading goal. A short corner shot by Lucy went wide of the right post; a Yasmin hit-on-the-run was diverted wide, while a wicked Lola reverse across the goal-mouth was missed by everyone.
In defence, Amelia and Cate tightened up the centre while Frankie on the left attacked whenever she could. That wasn’t to say Alexis didn’t have saves to make…but it felt like a goal was coming and Emily was unlucky just before the break when her short corner effort was parried by their ‘keeper.
We survived a scare straight after the break when first a Reading forward lifted the ball over Alexis from one side of the goal, but she recovered quickly to block a shot from the other side of the D.
Then we enjoyed a three-minute spell which lead up to the goal we deserved and a way back into the game. First Maisie broke onto a lovely pass through the middle from Yasmin but her shot went into the tummy of the advancing goalie. Yasmin, following up, saw her shot cleared off the line.
Straight away we had a penalty corner. Lucy’s first shot was saved and then she was fouled in the follow-up. Second time round, she slipped the ball, left, to Emily whose low bobbling effort beat the Reading defence and slid into the right corner.
It was game on…but, in truth, we couldn’t keep up the levels of concentration and commitment. We had battled to get back into the match for 40 minutes but when Reading raised their game we couldn’t compete with their strong, physical, pacey team.
First Reading hit one over the bar, then Alexis made two brave saves. But they scored from a bit of a mess of a short corner and quickly got a fourth from a tight angle after a run down their right and along the back-line.
For us, Maisie slid a shot wide and Emily had another fine run showing her skills and pace. But Reading’s finishing was more deadly with two more goals in quick succession before Emily scored again from a short corner.
As has been the case all season, our girls gave their all. Youngsters such as Lola and Umayah stepped up well and Tilly was often dangerous when given the opportunity.
But this was our fourth straight loss in a row following our opening day fight-back against Amersham & Chalfont where we nicked a 3-2 win against the run of play. Since then, our goals against column has not make pretty reading.
Sadly, we now enter Lockdown and a month’s break from playing competitive sport. But, maybe it gives us a chance to Reset, let the coaches talk about new tactics and ways to turn it around, and look for a positive re-start in 2021.