Ladies 1 vs St Albans 4

This week’s match saw our stoic L1s take on the Tangerine Titans at their home ground.

Much chat was had before the game about the new parking charges at the pitch, a bit of confusion about where the parking was actually situated and uncertainty as to whether it’s just a game played by the Oppo to psych everyone out.But everyone made it on time, even if half the team were sleep deprived and suffering leg burn out from their annual ski trip (no injuries though so that’s a plus).

Our confidence has been building over the last few weeks with some cracking results against top tier oppo and so our hope in being able to get a result against the TTs was at an all time high. 

Great team talk from Coach Bob followed by an intense warm up gave us a great start (apart from Amelie who had to wear crocs the entire time whilst her dad went back home to retrieve her astros) .

The first half started well, our man to man marking system now flawless and our tenacity to get first to the ball meant we had a grip on the game early doors. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that we were on the defence the whole time, oh no. Using the width beautifully , Chloe, Lily, Isla, Amelie, Nats and Clare all worked together in their little sub teams to create triangles of play that led us up the pitch time and time again. Izzy, Sophia and Laura our forward line were consistent in their leads, getting back to assist our mids when required and working together to lead the TTs defensive line astray to create space. 

Donna and myself took up the middle of the pitch, under clear instruction from Coach Bob to ensure that no one got in our D without some sort of physical altercation(all above board of course…) which we delivered on well. (Sorry to the TTs player who ended up on the floor, my bad) 

The camaraderie was there, lots of communication, switching players where needed and prescanning made for build up play and we knew a goal was coming. A cleverly played ball into the D saw Lily get onto the end of it and slide it in the corner of the goal. 

HHC 1 - 0 St Albans.

Delighted. 

But long way to go and we saw out the first half with no further incident, no goals conceded and no short corners given against us. Nice

Second half got underway and we remained consistent in our tenacity. We channeled  aggression and desire to get to the ball first which caused the TTs all sorts of problems and they struggled to find a way through without a sea of HHCers hounding them. We were tiring , but with patience and concentration we knew we could keep the pressure on. Some notable moments :

• Great confidence by all of the juniors in knowing when to take the ball and run with it but also when to look up and pass, showing amazing promise down our wide channels. 
• Kudos to Captain Emma and Coach Bob for flawless sub rotations that gave everyone a suitable break without disrupting the flow of the game.
• The TTs had some good counters but they couldn’t get through without a fight and just couldn’t get a decent shot away. 
• DoD vote probably goes to Nat for a swing and a miss at the top of the D but because there was no one near her, no whistle. Don’t worry, she helped the umpires out though by putting her hand up and stepping away from the ball (have you been getting pointers from Karen??) 

After more pressure from us, a clever ball onto the foot of one of the TTs saw us get yet another short corner which after being played into the P Spot saw our waiting Incredible Injector Clare slip it past all of the defenders into the waiting goal 

HHC 2 - 0 St Albans 

This sealed the deal for us HHCers, the TTs heads went down and they just couldn’t recover. After the best 70 minutes of hockey I’ve seen us play all season the final whistle went and we chalked up another well deserved win. Hoorah!! And maybe, just maybe, if Welwyn draw or lose today, we could be out of the danger zone in the table 🤞

⭐️Scorers: Lily and Clare

🏅Players of the match : Izzy & Kelsey

🎉Special yay: no short corners given away all game 

🌦️Weather Reporter Bryony: 4.2 degrees, 3.8 dew point,98% humidity (eh?)

🍔Teas review: burger bun slightly sweet and bacon slightly overdone. And who puts chilly sauce next to the ketchup bottle that looks EXACTLY the same…