This week Chiswick 3s played in blue, no yellow, no blue, no yellow, to face West Hampstead Ladies 4s. A general case of the lurgey had cut down the team to a few hardy souls and some walking wounded so the girls were ready for a tough match against strong opposition.
As the game kicked off, a shaky first five minutes saw the Chiswick defence under some sustained pressure from the West Hampstead attack. Luckily the team settled down and within a few minutes of the start, Nisha Dent opened the scoring with a nice aerial strike that left the West Hampstead keeper helpless. Some great passing play by Chiswick and good work in midfield by Lizzy Moir allowed Chiswick to keep up the pressure and second and third goals soon followed, Nisha Dent with a straight strike and Natalie Denton with a cool tip in. West Hampstead came back with a few minutes of attacking play that earned them a penalty corner. This was cleverly defended by Bernie Elliott-Bowman, who screamed “MIIIIIIINE” at the West Hampstead attackers while waving her stick in the air in an effort to confuse and alarm them into giving away the ball (I thought she was on our team, honest). At half time there was a severe lack of haribos which must have had a terrible impact on our team morale, as when we pushed back for the second half Chiswick were under a lot more pressure from the start. The defence soaked it up (with a bit more running than we’re used to) and the Chiswick attack looked like it was going to net a few more goals. Some unlucky touches from Natalie Denton were as close as we came to scoring in the second half and the game ended 3-0. The team managed to avoid any more injuries until some of the girls headed out for the evening and Hazel Posso apparently launched herself ankle-first down three flights of stairs. Yay.
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Saturday 7th February 2015
Chiswick won 1 -0 PHC Chiswick barely walked away with 3 points this weekend after a battle at Teddington, yet managed to notch a 1-0 win by the skin of their teeth. After a resilient first half and plenty of opportunities fended off by Teddington's brilliant keeper, Chiswick's centre mid Bex Smith made an adjustment to try and close the gap injured Rhianna Buchanan left at the deep striker. With the quick breather and a pep talk, Chiswick were out again for the second 35 with a focus on a co-ordinated attack. Kylie Burnett kept the clean sheet between the pipes with some help from Cookie Bowie and Katherine Duncan on defensive corners, while Harriet Stevenson kept the pressure on far at the other end. After 69 heated minutes, the match remained locked at 0-0. Laura Patterson showed both skill and speed with a last minute carry in the D to win a PC as time ran out. PHC Chiswick had all hands on deck around the D for their last chance to save a win and potentially the season. After the insert, straight strike, and a rebound, Man of the Match Mary Gamble picked up the second rebound and slammed the ball into the back of the boards for the goal, the win, and the 3 points. An ecstatic and relieved coach piled on Mary, while the rest of the team took a sigh of relief and welcomed the adrenaline of a close win to carry into next week's game... Bring on Wycombe. Saturday 7th February began with another early start and a familiar journey North to Southgate's home pitch. Same pitch, different team. Southgate 3's were lined up as our opposition. Another decent team talk was given, both by the captains and coach, who lucky for us, was here at Southgate on this 2nd visit. Although, short on players we were fortunate and thankful for Claire McStravick stepping up from the 3's and work her magic. The game was slow to start and took us a few minutes to settle in and find our feet. Play was scrappy from both sides...until finally we realized our capabilities outreached theirs & we snapped back to our normal game of play, highlighted by Kate Murray’s, adding to her hat trick from last week's game, skilful deflection from a beautiful cross from the side of the D, resulting in an unstoppable, "where did that come from?", type of goal. After another encouraging 'sort yourself' out talk by Coach Nick Richards, we started the 2nd half with a better mentality. Although throughout the 2nd half Chiswick dominated, the ref decided to give a penalty flick to the opposition which unfortunately resulted in a goal, enabling them to equalize with us. However, Matilda Lang must be mentioned for all her spectacular saves throughout the course of the game, and as was previously noted, important to acknowledge that the opposition's goal wasn't conceded from open game of play. An all-round team effort contributed to a draw of 1-1. Although, I don’t think I’d be the only one to say, the final score, certainly doesn't reflect how well we played, especially so during the 2nd half. PHC Chiswick Ladies 4s v Winchmore Hill and Enfield Ladies 2s. The ladies 4s went into this match knowing it was going to be a tough one. They were facing a strong opposition, who had beaten some of their biggest rivals. So therefore the plan going in was to remain calm and hold possession, waiting for the right time to strike, as well as staying as tight through the defence as possible. The match started as planned, with a few early breaks into the D and a couple of attacking plays. However the ladies 4s were correct and Winchmore Hill did put them under pressure in their own D. Goal keeper Alice Taylor-Bennett had to make some crucial saves within the first 15 minutes of play, and Alex Joss made some game saving tackles and intercepts as she took on the role of sweeper and aimed to ‘steady the Chiswick ship though turbulent seas’. It was through this defence that the ladies kept Winchmore Hill scoreless in the first half, although unfortunately Chiswick also remained scoreless and went into halftime at 0-0. Going into half time Chiswick knew that their fitness was ultimately going to win the game for them, so they planned to come out all guns blazing. They also discussed getting more of a link established between the midfielders and the attackers to make the most of any turned over ball. Finally they aimed to close down any gaps in the field to eliminate the opposition getting a breakaway. The ladies 4s definitely stood by their intentions, right from the first whistle Chiswick moved the ball up the pitch and were confidently attacking the opposition’s goal. The midfield combo of Emma Milton, Stacey Nevin and Chloe Hole worked tirelessly to provide support for the forwards, but also tracked back and recovered any lost ball. It wasn’t long until Chiswick heard that satisfying sound of the ball striking the backboard. This came from Grace Glendinning, she worked the ball into the D with the support of Sophie Green. Grace’s first shot was saved with a dive by the keeper, however in typical fashion, she wasn’t fazed, and calmly scooped the balled up and flicked it over the keeper, putting Chiswick 1-0 up. At the restart the ladies tried to remain calm, and aimed to play with the same drive, however they quickly found themselves on the back foot as the opposition came back strongly. It was only a matter of minutes until Chiswick were defending a penalty corner. A well worked corner routine from Winchmore Hill saw them equalise, and Chiswick were back under pressure. Luckily the ladies 4s are not a team to go down with out a fight, they continued to attack and with 5 minutes left to play they managed to find a defenders foot in the D and cause a penalty corner. A straight strike from the top of the D from Grace Glendinning was saved by the keeper, however they were not prepared for the follow up and Grace managed to slip another one nicely in behind the goalie, giving a full time result of 2-1. Chiswick were delighted with the hard fought win, and are happy to remain top of the division two table by a four point margin. Win 2:1 Goal Scorers: Grace Glendinning Man of Match: Alex Joss PHC Ladies 6s v Winchmore Hill & Enfield L3s L6s knew they were in for an very tough match this weekend as they were facing second in the league. With the oppos record 58 goal tally and 11 wins so far out of 18 matches, it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. With this in mind, the ladies in blue went into the match all gung-ho from outset and the game was certainly ON with Chiswick winning first push back. The first half saw the ladies sixes throwing pressure onto the oppo by the truckload, pushing into the attacking D time and time again and taking a shot. In a nail biting first half it seemed that every Chiswick shot on goal was so close but yet so far and failed to hit the backboard. Even an award of a PC failed to convert into a goal. The Hockey Gods certainly weren’t going to make this easy. Chiswick 6s held pressure and possession for much of thr first half, but with the half time whistle blown and neither team scoring, we knew the oppo would come back stronger and harder in the second half. Chiswick 6s dug into much needed half time oranges and whilst Coach Norma Bonnell made her half time speech, we were pumped to continue the good work and ready to make our shots count. With the heavily revised line up yet again on trial, and drawing on some slick stick skills and drills covered by coaches Cushla Bowie and Norma Bonnell previously at training, it was only a matter of time when we managed to pass around the oppo and demonstrate a beautifully executed textbook pass from sweeper Gemma Humphreys out to Anne Pentecost, landing onto a newly assigned mid-fielder Helen Lee’s stick who, unfortunately and fortunately playing high, swept it into oppo’s backboard. 1 nil! Not happy with just one goal, Chiswick went searching for another. Chiswick 6s pushed hard against Winchmore Hill who had stepped up their game and had more possession, but with a strong defence out in force and Chiswick hungry for a sure win a second goal soon followed. A pass up from Hannah Mort onto Sophie Cookson’s stick found the back of the goal. 2 nil! With 2 further awards of PCs in the second half, 1 awarded just seconds before the final whistle, Chiswick unfortunately failed to add to the goal tally. Nonetheless, 3 points in the bag to take home for Chiswick. Whether it was Coach Norma Bonnells NOT wearing her ‘Chiswick coloured scarf’, the heavily revised line up, lucky shirt numbers or the half time oranges, the winning formula seems to be in there somewhere. Many thanks to Gemma McIntosh of the Ladies 4s for stepping in to umpire after her own match. MoM: Sophie ‘crumpet’ Cookson for having refined her choice for a perfect hockey breakfast for all around awesomeness (that's crumpets for all those that are interested), which meant she had a stonking match and scored! DoD nominee: Helen ‘headless’ (almost) Lee for being so committed to keep possession of the ball, stopping the ball ON the line and almost decapitating herself on a football goal crossbar! And for permanently being out of position but scoring. Score 2-0 win Scorers: Helen Lee 1, Sophie Cookson 1 PHC Chiswick Ladies 4s vs. Old Merchant Taylors' Duchesses
3-1 Win The ladies 4s knew they were in for a tough match this week as they were facing the team currently in fourth place. The girls in blue aimed to keep the intensity up all match, not only to put the pressure on the oppo, but in attempts to keep warm in the 2 degree weather. In a nail-biting first half the Duchesses saw a lot of the ball and spent far too much time in Chiswick's D. Several break away plays, and five conceded short corners were all dealt with skilfully by the defence team of Yssie Richards, Alex Joss, Clare Omerod, Jen Holman & Sinead McGeever with goalkeeper Alice Taylor-Bennett. Several shots were stopped just short of the line, but Alice Taylor-Bennett also displayed her confidence by coming out to meet dangerous attackers closer to the edge of the D. While the defence were working hard there was also action up at the other end of the pitch. The 4s had some good opportunities on goal and a couple near misses. However, we were allowing the Duchesses to dictate the game and not playing as fluidly as we had the week before. This made the team tense up and silly passes were made. Going into half time at 0-0 the team spoke very honestly about the problems - we were letting them put us under pressure and not focusing enough on retaining possession and waiting for the right opportunity. The key thing to address was confidence -and the team went out for the second half knowing that if we stepped up our game we had a good chance to turn the match around. Straight from the whistle the fours were vastly improved - playing with real attacking intent and with a lot more composure at the back. Not a single short corner was conceded in the second half. The deadlock was broken about ten minutes into the half with a great goal under pressure from co-captain Gemma McIntosh, the ball was nicely worked up from the top of the D by Laura Bryant who spotted Gemma on the right post, passed the ball, and it was slotted behind the keeper. Unfortunately, the Duchesses came straight back at Chiswick and shortly afterwards equalised at 1-1, a real crushing moment that could have sent Chiswick back to the nerves and tension of the first half. Luckily the whole team stepped up and especially the midfield combo of Emma Milton, Stacey Nevin and Sophie Green brought some real pace to the game. Grace Glendinning did the team a huge favour by scoring to take the game to 2-1. This was probably the second most celebrated goal of the season for the 4s! The cheers from the sideline supporters could be heard miles away. You could still sense the tension on pitch however, the ladies 4s had let a lead slip away before and this time they were determined not to do it again. Chiswick held possession as much as possible and utilised Chloe Hole as a consistent pivot point allowing the ball to be switched across the pitch. It was through this role that Chloe Hole found Laura Bryant. Chloe Hole dribbled the ball in from the 25 line, and crossed it to an awaiting Laura Bryant, who skilfully controlled the ball and smashed it behind the keeper, putting Chiswick 3-1 up. With this lead, the ladies played with determination and fought to the final whistle. The ladies walked off ecstatic with their ability to turn the game around and are happy to retain the top of the league spot. Special thanks to umpire Georgie Wilson. MoM: Stacey Nevin -was won for a fantastic and ferocious game, playing everywhere and covering a lot of ground with real determination. DoD: Sophie Green –who reversed over the keepers kit in the car park. Goals: Gemma McIntosh, Grace Glendinning, Laura Bryant PHC C PHC Chiswick Ladies 6s v Ashford Ladies 3s After some initial concerns about the early morning sleet downpour over London that threatened yet another hockey match, the pitch was checked, and the game was given the go-ahead. The sublime 6s rocked onto pitch. It was wet and cold, but the match was on with Chiswick gaining first push back. Chiswick took a little while to find themselves in a heavily revised team formation and Ashford scored a fast goal early in the first half to take them 1-0 ahead. However the new positioning seemed to start working well, and Chiswick quickly found their fighting spirit with the Ashford defence seeing a sustained period of action throughout the middle and end of the first half, including Chiswick's only short corner of the match. The second half saw a lot of passionate play with both goalies getting in on the action as the ball swept up and down the pitch. Aboult half way through the second half, Chiswick were able to convert with an equaliser from Gillan Kerr. A goal a piece. Ashford were quick on the attach howeevr, and it wasn't long before the ball once again went in the back of the net after a break, to put the oppo ahead once again. Chiswick worded hard to try and equalise again but the teams were evenly matched and neither team could make any further impact on the defence with the score remaining at 2-1 at the final whistle. MoM: Gillian Kerr for outstanding play DoD: No nominations: the whole team played really well together. |
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