PHC Chiswick Ladies 2s v Staines Ladies 2s - 31.10.15

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!