Girls U12 Bunnies and Bees in good shape for Kent

The Bunnies and Bees made the trip to Sevenoaks to play a double triangular against the home side, Canterbury and Ashford. With Sevenoaks and Canterbury likely to be strong contenders for the Kent title, this was ideal final preparation.
Both players and supporters were pleased to see the weather in Sevenoaks was, at least relatively, better than what they'd left behind in London, with the odd rain shower balanced with the occasional appearance of the sun.

Both teams started against their respective Ashford opponents. The Bunnies created numerous chances, but apparently heading towards a frustrating stalemate until Freya Williams' unstinting determination finally converted after a scramble in the D. The Bees started strongly, but fell behind and briefly lost their shape. However, BOEs strength in depth proved their saving grace, with Fiona Windsor stepping from the sideline to equalise. Ella Hodges next stepped back on to the pitch, completing a fine passing move with a fantastic run from right midfield and powerful finish; 2-1 win to the Bees!

Next up for BOE, the hosts, Sevenoaks. A good workout for the defence and goalkeepers Louisa Morris and Ellie Kinch this time in both games. Paige Daysh and Jasmine Lewis were outstanding at the back for the Bunnies, but could not prevent a defeat. For the Bees, the early departure of Madeleine Tynan and Dulcie Rhodes (changed ready for a party?) meant a reorganisation, especially in defence. Amelie Brooks, converted from centre forward, continued her impressive work at the back, while Ria Bennett-Lee impressed both with strong tackling and a good positional sense, allied to a good understanding with Ella Hodges which started a number of good attacks. Converted centre-forwards has been a theme of the last few tournaments for the Bees, with Phoebe Hambling continuing her excellent heads-up hockey from right midfield. Despite a good effort all round Sevenoaks also proved too strong for the Bees.

Slightly less impressive was the absence of two-thirds of the Bees team at one pushback, due to the distraction provided by the vending machine in the sports centre! Concentration and focus throughout the game (and even before) is one area where both teams could still improve a little, occasionally switching off and giving opponents an easy ride.

Canterbury were the final opponents. The Bunnies experimented with some positional changes, which caused some confusion, but also provided some valuable lessons for those involved. Emma Huxley continued to be a marauding threat on the right, even when starting deeper in defence, while Anneke Outen, Grace Grabham and Evie Camp worked on their midfield defensive discipline. Freya Williams and Robyn Steel continued to provide a threat on the counterattack, but Canterbury proved too strong on this occasion.

The Bees were always in their game against Canterbury, and looked like they might score on a number of occasions. Unfortunately they conceded after making a mess of an attacking short corner of their own with the score at 0-0 and Canterbury went on to win by 3 or 4 goals. The Bees coped well with some further positional tweaks: Fiona Windsor was joined up front by Lois Khanna, but despite some good link up play could not convert a consolation.

Both teams have additional players to come back, and hopes should be high for Kent in a couple of weeks. We may take a leaf out of the Porcupines book and deploy some chocolate cake incentives to close the final gap to the top!