Playing at home this week our L2s were looking to put on a display of brilliance. The pre-match team talk focused on specifics we need to work on, also acknowledging attributes of fellow players to draw on/from and build on. We had clear objectives as individuals and as a team and a decent warm up saw us ready at the whistle. For the most part it worked, but we just couldn’t get that ball in the net. 10 mins into the game a fast break and swift attack from right hand corner, a cross ball to their left mid and H&W scored their first goal. But Chiswick defence and midfield linked well and Cookie Bowie (close second MOM) distributed that ball from the 16 at the pace of a springbok being chased by a lion, a very hungry lion, relieving our defence from pressure by H&W’s press. End of 1st half we were still 1-0 down. The first 10 mins of the second half Chiswick L2s proved their worth and were so in control that the calm was almost palpable. Free hits were taken quickly, 50/50 balls met, short linking passes saw us zig zag neatly up the pitch into our attacking D time and time again. Again Cookie showed her strength in defence, timing a tackle to perfection and quickly turning the tables in our favour. A quick lay off to Vicky Lorrimer on our right half who again laid it off to Georgina Wilson down the right who carried it to base line, did a cheeky little spin and popped it in the goal. 1 all! H&W soon scored their second goal; a Chiswick foot foul in the D that umpire didn’t see but H&W used it to their advantage and Chiswick were painfully reminded of the lesson “play to the whistle”. Last 10 mins we had a flurry of opportunities. Chiswick scored an equalising goal! But the decision was revoked when it became apparent that a naughty PHC foot got in the way. The last few minutes saw us scrabbling in the D, striking at every opportunity, ready for every re-bound, but it wasn’t enough. Mom Vicky Lorrimer for reading the game well and delivering sharp, weighted passes Dod Danni Petticrew for remembering her travel-mugged-coffee but forgetting her socks!
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PHC Chiswick Ladies 1 v Buckingham Ladies 2s – Away. Buckingham win 2-1.
Chiswick goal was scored by Rhi Buchanan. It was an early start for the PHC Chiswick Ladies 1s Saturday, heading north to the stunning Akeley Wood School in Buckingham. Chiswick started the game on the front foot and after some intense and fast passed play, won a short corner which was coolly slotted away by Rhi Buchanan, drilled into the bottom corner, 1-0 Chiswick. Buckingham kept their cool, settled and started to retain possession, moving the ball well through their lines. Their stretched play kept Chiswick honest, working hard to protect their 25. As Buckingham grew in confidence, a series of penetrating balls meant the Buckingham forwards started to find the odd gap behind the Chiswick defence. It was one of these chances which allowed Buckingham’s stand out midfielder along the backline where her clam run resulted in a cool solo goal, lifting the ball over the oncoming Chiswick goal keeper. 1-1 halftime. The second half was end to end. Both teams battling hard to find that gap / pass that would take the 3 points. With the game closing out it was Buckingham who found that lucky break. Turning over possession in the midfield, they broke with pace winning a corner in the dying minutes. The Chiswick defence held strong and stopped the initial shot, however the ball fell to the injector who swept the ball hard in the air from the backline. An unlucky deflection from the defence took the ball past the Chiswick goalkeeper into the net. 2-1 Buckingham. With seconds left on the clock, Chiswick played to the last, however Buckingham held strong and came out winners of a well fought battle. MOM Sophie Kirk for endless running both in attack and defence DOD (shared) Rhi Buchanan for various reasons & Sophie Kirk for her impressive Austin Powers moment at a petrol station. The ladies fours knew that this would be a tough match - and they really felt the Division 1 heat for the first time this season. Despite a valiant effort from the whole team we succumbed to some excellent play from West Hampstead. Chiswick went in 4-0 down at half time. The team talk focused on tightening things up and continuing to work hard. The team responded brilliantly and were much improved in the second half. Overall, the ladies played better than the scoreline suggests and they had a proud captain at the end of the game. MoM to Sinead McGeever for never giving up and DoD Cat Jackman for almost throwing her stick over the fence in the rain - a contender for most bizarre moment of the season! On a particularly rainy November morning, the PHC Chiswick ladies 2s ventured out West to play Eastcote’s ladies 2s.
Though the match ended in a disappointing 2-1, PHC Chiswick played a reasonable game scattered with some great moments of quick passing as well as a good number of smooth transfers round the back. Despite being inside Eastcote’s D on numerous occasions, Chiswick’s ladies had difficulties creating strong shots at goal. There were a few beautiful setups for deflections, but unfortunately none of these were cashed in. The goal that Chiswick did make was a perfectly converted short corner, which went from Danni Petticrew on the left to Tara Byrne who then slipped the ball towards the goal where Charlotte Cooper got the deflection in. Eastcote’s ladies 2s also had various attempts at goal. Most of there were dealt with expertly by goalie Millie Lang, who made a particularly impressive safe in a one to one face-off with an Eastcote attacker who had bypassed Chiswick’s defence. Despite this strong presence, two balls did make it into the ladies 2s goal. MOM went to Tara Byrne and Emma Bornebroek received DOD. After a week’s break Chiswick Ladies 1s returned to action looking to end their opposition’s unbeaten record and return to the top of the league. Despite being two players down during the pre-match preparation and warm up due to excessive Friday night antics (and one never actually making the game!), Chiswick managed to find their concentration by the first whistle and started the game brightly. Man of the Match, Rebecca Smith, made the pressure count with a coolly converted short corner in the first 10 minutes. Milton Keynes responded soon after with a break-away goal but Chiswick ensured they were back on top at the break with Rebecca Smith this time turning provider to set up Harriett Stevenson who scrambled the ball over the line.
Chiswick turned up the pressure in the second half, dominating possession and leaving Kylie Burnett little to do in goal. Despite a relatively flat opening five minutes, Smith and Rhianna Buchanan continued to cause problems for the visitors defence, creating a number of short corner opportunities. Laura Patterson converted with a sweeping top corner effort from a pinpoint Mary Gamble pass to put clear light between the two teams. Chiswick continued to hunt for more goals and some brilliant teamwork from Buchanan and Sarah Blackburn to create a turn-over on the right side of the pitch, enabled Smith to once again find Stevenson in the D who calmly lifted the ball over the oncoming keeper to extend the home team’s lead. Chiswick look ahead to next week’s away fixture against Buckingham happy to have taken 3 points but will be looking for improvement in their overall performance to maintain their strong league run. With a slow start, the ladies 4s went 1-0 down in the first half. With grit and determination, the fightback back was on and by half time, they were sitting pretty at 2-1 up. After a stirring half time speak, they ladies kept up their form, extending their lead to 3-1 early in the second half. Two goals from Cat Jackman and a Nicole Shipperley had left Chiswick feeling confident of the win. A late goal from Southgate looked to upset matters, but Chiswick were able to hold on for a well deserved 3-2 victory. MOM went to Nicole Shipperley for killer attack and a nifty goal. DOD went to Chloe Hole for not being able to handle that one member of the opposition didn't have a number on and trying to stop the game...multiple times! Chiswick lined up against Staines ladies 2's, who started the day at the top of the league.
It was a beautiful day for hockey, if not a little too warm! Chiswick dominated the majority of the first half, with some great running, neat passing and strong attacking work, as well as their tactic of building play right from the back and working the ball all the way up the pitch to the forwards. There was lots of link up work between Bernie and Katie in defence, moving the ball forward up to Lizzy, Caz, Bex and Suzanne in the mid sand on to the forwards who remained high up near the opposition D and in good positions. Chiswick's hard work paid off, resulting with a skillful goal scored by Feline. Her initial shot was blocked by the Staines keeper, but she could not recover from the first save and prevent Feline from lifting the ball over the top and into the back of the net. Chiswick came under significant attacking pressure towards the end of the first half, and they had to defend a number of penalty corners on the bounce. The defence stood strong, with the whole team pulling together and coming back to defend whenever called upon. Chiswick were able to repel multiple Staines' penalty corners with the help of some great work by goalkeeper Nikki Redding. Sadly, the staines attack kept coming, and Chiswick were unfortunately unable to keep them out, resulting in a goal for Staines not long before the half-time whistle blew. Chiswick started the 2nd half with the same intensity as the first, looking to try and capitalise on their fitness and teamwork in order to get an early goal. Unfortunately, Staines kept up their pressure and Chiswick were pinned in their own half of the field. Chiswick's defensive strength was weakened by a number of substitutions that were brought on as a result of injury, and a number of players had to fill unfamiliar positions. Staines scored 2 goals in quick succession, and Chiswick could not respond, despite their best efforts. The game ended in 1-3 defeat, but with lots of positives to take into the next league games! On 17.10.15 Chiswick ladies 1s played Hampstead & Westminster 2s on their Boddington Gardens home turf. Going into the match both teams were undefeated and sitting at the top of the table after starting the season with 4 straight wins. Everyone knew it was going to be a tough game that it would involve 70 minutes of hard play. Both teams started well with quick passing and solid tackling. A couple of opportunities opened up for Chiswick with Harriett Stevenson diving to get the final, much needed, touch on the ball but both times it went slightly wide of the post. Hampstead & Westminster’s forwards managed to create confusion amongst the Chiswick players which ended with the ball touching a Chiswick foot just in front of the goal and a penalty flick being awarded. Although Kylie Burnett reacted quickly the flick managed to sneak under her arm and the first goal of the match was scored. For the remainder of the first half and start of the second Chiswick took control of the match and had the majority of the possession. Laura Patterson created some great opportunities using her pace down the wings but the Hampstead & Westminster defence was strong and made it difficult for Chiswick to penetrate the D. Hampstead & Westminster managed to get a short corner and it looked like there was about to be another goal but Heather Ford cleared the ball beautifully mid-air from the left hand post. Chiswick went on the attack again but Hampstead & Westminster turned the ball over into a quick break leaving the Chiswick defence chasing to catch up as 3 Hampstead and Westminster headed straight towards goal. There was little Kylie Burnett could do. Goal 2 was scored. Chiswick fought back and kept playing with composure and held possession even when they found themselves 1 man down twice after a couple of yellow cards! After being awarded several short corners Chiswick managed to get their first goal from a brilliant strike by Rhianna Buchanan. Chiswick had all the momentum and were gunning to equalise but with only a few minutes left of the clock there just wasn’t enough time leaving the final score at Hampstead & Westminster 2 – Chiswick 1. Joint MoM went to Laura Patterson and Lisa Crane for their amazing play up the wing and strong defending respectively. DoD went to Rebecca Smith for getting a little bit too physical with a Hampstead & Westminster player leading to a yellow card. After a solid warm-up lead by coach Cowboy, the ladies 2s started their match against Harrow’s first team with focus and full of zest. Harrow proved to be a strong opponent and was putting a lot of pressure on Chiswick from the go.
Despite tireless defending and numerous epic saves by goalie Matilda Lang, Harrow managed to score nine goals in total. Two of these were the outcome of what felt like at least twenty short corners. Another two were scored from penalty flicks. Regardless of this avalanche of goals, Chiswick’s ladies didn’t give up and kept working hard throughout the game. The team made some great runs into the attacking circle and captain Georgie Wilson managed to land a goal, making the final score 9-1. So even though the final result was disappointing, there were still many positives to be taken away from the game. Knowing that we fought hard to the end made it palatable. MOM was won by Matilda Lang for her countless great saves, and DOD went to Emma Bornebroek for being late due an altercation between her bicycle, sat nav and dual carriageways! The ladies 1's took on Henley at Acton this weekend. Chiswick started well, with some consistent possession.
The first goal came from a penalty stroke, after some great lead up play from Rhianna Buchanan resulted in her being taken out at the top of the circle. Rebecca Smith stepped up to convert. The second came from a penalty corner left lay off (just how we planned it) scored by Erin Weber. Half time came, with Chiswick up 2-0. After some half time discussion, with an emphasis on valuing possession and supporting the ball carrier (wise words, thanks Kylie Burnett), Chiswick headed out for the second half in a confident of continuing to dominate. Erin Weber continued in goal scoring mood at the start of the second half, after some great baseline play by Lisa Crane. Harriet Stevenson picked up the next two goals for Chiswick, set up by Laura Patterson and then Rhianna Buchanan. Henley then pulled one back, scoring after the break down of a penalty corner, where the initial shot was blocked, but follow up enabled one to get through the Chiswick defense. Chiswick spent 5 minutes with 10 players after Sophie Kirk was yellow carded. However, Henley also went a player down, following a similar penalty. Chiswick finished strongly, with a goal to Tisunge Barrack, assisted by Rhianna Buchanan (being very generous this weekend) and Erin Weber completing her hat trick, having been set up by Harriet Stevenson. It finished 7-1 to Chiswick, a good second game of the season. MOM: Erin DOD: Sophie |
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