A great home victory for our L1s

After a week off, the girls were pumped and ready to play some good hockey after a disappointing draw from our last game. Marlborough started strong and dominated possession. Switching the ball around the back and keen to use the wide channels. Great link play from the team to our wide defenders Annabel Ashley, Amy Davidson and Beth Palfrey who utilised the space and create many opportunities which B&SN struggled to defend. Our first goal came from a hard slap into the D from Rachel Cox who found Grace Berry on the post, who deflected it into the goal. 1-0 to Marlborough. We weren’t stopping there. Great play by our inners, Kitty Cleaver and Jess Davis who were moving the ball around to find our forwards, Catherine Manley, Milly Dawson, Alice Fanshawe and Grace Berry who were putting pressure on their defence. Our second goal came from a great run down the line from Annabel Ashley who slapped the ball into the D, and with a scramble around the goalie, Kitty Cleaver kept composed and ensured the ball went over the back line. 2-0 to Marlborough. B&SN were putting on a fight and trying to utilise on their breaks, but our centre backs Emily Carter-Davies and Anna Scott made crucial tackles to reduce the chances of any shots on goal.

After a positive halftime team talk, the girls were ready to keep up the intensity. The ladies kept possession and transferred the ball around the pitch to keep the pressure on. The team were working hard to create lots of opportunities which was rewarded as Beth Palfrey made a great curved run and slapped the ball across the D to find Alice Fanshawe who was perfectly placed on the post to push the ball into the goal. 3-0 to Marlborough. B&SN were not giving up, but Issy Davies made sure she was on ball to make fast, crucial saves to stop the ball going into our goal and the defenders were always there to ensure the ball was cleared out. Rachel Cox was controlling the middle and distributing the ball, she found Grace Berry again and without hesitating hit the ball over the back line, 4-0 to Marlborough. With 1 minute to go, B&SN scored a deflection and made the final score 4-1 to Marlborough. Overall, the ladies were very happy with their performance and much deserved 3 points. A special mention to Amy Davidson and Beth Palfrey who still played after landing in the early morning from Gambia!

The man of the match goes to our newcomer Grace Berry who scored 2 great goals and made a positive impact on the game.