Ladies 4s fightback - 25.10.14

PHC Chiswick Ladies 4s v Winchmore Hill Ladies 2s

This week was a big battle in the league, as 4th placed Chiswick took on 2nd placed Winchmore Hill - separated in the league by just one point - at the Linford pitch.  Having narrowly lost 3-2 to the same opposition in a pre-season friendly, we knew this was an important game for us if we were to achieve our ambitions this season.

The first half however was somewhat disastrous for the girls in blue.  The team weren't clicking and te ball wasn't getting out to the wings nearly enought.  The opposition were dominating possession and Man of the Match (GK Alice Taylor-Bennet) kept the team in teh game with a series of crucial saves.  Despite being up against it, the 4s did well to largely keep the oppo at bay and limit them to just one goal (a goalmouth scrap that didn't go Chiswick's way).

At half time, we knew we weren't playing anywhere near our best hockey and we used the break to have a really strong chat about playing smarter and getting ourselves back into the game.  The wonderful Jenni Holman proved she was still as wise as ever despite losing her wisdom teeth the day before, and gave great support and direction from the sideline, along with hero umpire Clare and our much missed Laura Murphy.

So afte the break, teh 4s came out determined to totally reset and we managed to play like a completely different team.  Using the centre far more effectively as a pivot, the ball made it out to the winfs and Emma, Sophie (on a fab debut despite confusing the yellow and white lines) and Carine made a great job of running the ball up the sidelines.  The equaliser came from a beautifully worked move and Laura Bryant executed a clinical finish to level the score at 1-1.  Now feeling far more positive, the 4s sought to capitalise on this new found possesion.  We managed to press their free hits really effectively, and trapped them in their own half.

With some positive calling from the sidelines, the 4s knew the 3s points were there for the taking if we could keep the positive play up and stay strong at the back.  Our other debutant Renee did a brilliant job of closing down the left channel and the winning goal came from a reverse stick tap-in by Toni McGovern (the 4s second reverse stick goal in two weeks!).  Despite a last minute scare, the 4s managed to keep the score there and celebrated an epic comeback which takes us to second in the league, and just one point behind leaders Staines (our oppo in two weeks).

Final score:  PHC Chiswick Ladies 4s - 2, Winchmore Hill and Enfield Ladies 2s -1
Scorers: Laura Bryant, Toni McGovern
MoM: Alice Taylor-Bennett
DoD: Sophie Green