A game of two halves

It was a reasonably bright start to a hockey Saturday with quick drive down to Seven Oaks. The team were in reasonably high spirits following the 5-1 win the week before…that was until it dawned on us the lack of subs and the consequent amount of game time that would be had by all, which was a tall over for those of us who are old enough to be qualify for VETS status! Nevertheless, we made a decent start of it.

Despite the fact that when the opposition stepped on the field a Blackheath player was overheard to say, “are you sure you only have 11 on the pitch….the field is covered in you!” As I was saying, it began well, with quick feeding of the ball to the midfield and then equally up into the forward line. A few near misses and a penalty corner or two and we looked like it was all going to plan. The opposition defended well and then began their own form of attack. The young, fit youth players upfront for the opposition were well deployed and supported by the more experience players at the rear. Suffice to say, with some smart 1-2 passes, Seven Oaks took the lead…and began to mount a slight goal frenzy early on.

Megan managed to slow things down by taking a direct hit in the knee. This allowed Blackheath to take stock and re-group. We were joined by Sandie in the back (misreading the game time and coming ever so fashionable late). She bought a sense of calm and wisdom that meant we were able to continue to mount an attack. Nicky and Abbi both stepped up and scored some impressive goals to put us back in the game.

The game truly was a game of two halves. The second half saw a much more confident and in-form Blackheath. The defence worked extremely well with Berry managing the save of her life on the backline – high fiving the opposition umpire in recognition of her greatness. NOT to be outdone, Pringle suffer a major injury as she fell…unprovoked…for no reason…by a ghost!

Needless to say she earned a unanimous DOTD for her efforts. Big ups must go to the young and talented Jo Jo receiving MOTM and to Beth and Emma for running themselves ragged in the mid-field. All in all a 6-2 defeat but a second half win to Blackheath. Onwards and upwards!

Match report written by Carmel