Meerkats and Mongooses

A brilliantly sunny afternoon for our first outing to Cheltenham this season. And (thankfully!) 14 Marlborough players were there to play some really confident hockey.

We organised the girls into two teams - the Mongooses and the Meerkats.

Jane's report of the Mongooses highlighted the excellent spirit that the girls brought to the afternoon. This team had a real mix of experience & abilities so tried various combinations in order to find a nice balance of strength in defence (Anya doing a great job with some great hits out - and not afraid to get stuck in) and upfront (Jemima & Innes connecting really well and driving forward and using the wing - and just going for it!). Blythe was really solid in mid field helping move ball up and coming back to defend. Ava (who only started playing hockey for the first time this season!) gained confidence through the matches, showing a fabulous attitude but in the end injury forced her to come off. Similarly Eve really grew through the matches, showing her strength on the wing and strong passing - also her team play as she covered for Ava when she couldn't move much. Full marks to Verity in goal which was really tough - the scorelines were kept at bay by her fab goalkeeping, particularly when we were a player down! Results don't do this team justice...there were some great plays into the circle and they were very unlucky on at least two occasions not to see a goal from it.

I had the Meerkats, who had a different experience of the afternoon from their colleagues by winning their first three games, losing one then drawing their last. Phoebe, Annie and Issy worked very confidently up front, notching up some very respectable goal tallies. Bella was a dynamo in midfield, chasing down attacks and then working back to help the defenders if needed. Ellie and Laura worked brilliantly together, showing robust never-say-die defending when under pressure and then swiftly turning around the play to move the ball up the field before our opponents had realised what was going on. Finally, special praise is due to Georgie for her accomplished showing in goal, conceding very few goals and keeping a few clean sheets! What I noticed most of all was how well the girls were playing together, communicating and connecting their passes.

A few things to work on in training, which will next be on Sunday 11th November - do please let me know whether you will be at training that morning or (like me) elsewhere. Then we shall have our next opportunity to play on Sunday 18th - another afternoon in Cheltenham, and/or possibly Dauntsey in the morning (TBC).

Until then, I hope that you enjoy the half term break!

Tom