Ladies 1st XI Vs Nottingham Players 2

Report 11 February 2023

South Nottm Ladies v Players Ladies       

Match report 

Eleanor (Rock of Gibraltar) Wallace led out our 1st XI  (A) against   Players  who are snapping at our heels in our League Division.  A strong opposing team and a good result for us was critical.

Also present were Freya’s Mum and Evie’s Dad , thank you.  As we were playing Away, we missed the vocal support of our usual other team supporters.

Brisk pre-match pep-talk by Eleanor, with repeated emphasis on developing and improving inter-play against what was expected to be a relatively youthful side.  She re-emphasised our need to play wide.   Use our wings to the full.  Our tactical plan must be to continue to create “possession hockey”. Clickety-click, short, accurate passes, keeping possession.

Because of rolling subs, not everyone below, was on the pitch at the same time.

Gemma ( normally the “Jet-Propelled”  but today “They shall not pass”) Robinson valiantly volunteered to  step up in goal as Elizabeth Turner was away.  And did very well.  Thank you.

In front of Eleanor Wallace at sweeper, were the resolute Jo (Barrier of the Pyrenees) Shaw,  Freya  (Meteor ) Beaumont  and Liz ( the Fleet-Footed ) Foster.  Liz was seen to be sprinting and accelerating to collect a loose ball against a very quick opponent. And as expected, Liz won that race by a country mile.  Well done.

After a skilled through-ball by Katrina (the Shrewd) Franklin, Evie (Shooting Star)  Bates picked it up at speed and  weaved unexpectedly  into Players’ D for a swift  poaching  strike; 1-0  within a few minutes!   When we see Evie gearing up to go, it is like waiting 5 seconds for something magical to happen. And it always does.

So Players then double-marked the ever-dangerous Evie and so left our other forwards free to roam.

 Sophie (Tiger) Runciman  and Caroline (the Incomparable) Brackenbury then started in centre midfield,   to move the ball about, playing wide,  with needle-point accuracy,  out  to our speedy outside forwards  Ruby  (Rocket) Ryan   and Sammy (the Arrow) Markwick.

 Sammy was running, running, running. It made some spectators quite tired, just to watch it! But Sammy skilfully ran the Players’ defence into a ragged razzle, and  Becky (Comet) lurked silently and dangerously on the edge of their D. Ruby  Ryan ‘s pace and skills left her opponents standing.  

The stick-work skills in midfield of Kate (the Terrier) Parker were much admired by spectators in her defensive and attacking play. Then there was agile, nippy, Sophie (Swift to Pounce) Atkinson making life increasingly difficult for a vigorous Players team.   These two took spectators’ breath away in silent and respectful awe. With their very clever readings of the game, all of our strong midfield kept plotting the shutdown of their opposite numbers, (with 100% success), while opening up new opportunities, and increasing gloom in the Players team.

Midfield  were also passing through- balls  up inside to our athletic forwards Evie (the  Shooting Star) Bates and  Rose (the Crafty) Cartwright  who kept pushing hard at the boundaries of a very efficient Players  defence.  

Rose Cartwright  was arrowing through the Players’  defence and sliding the ball sideways to a waiting unmarked colleague,  as was  Evie Bates , time after time.   Sophie Atkinson and Kate Parker were invisibly and unexpectedly (to Players ) doing the slicing-same and  kept moving like lightning for diagonal return passes and making more, as they kept up the penetration. Devastating wizardry, and inspiring to watch.

Unmarked for a brief moment, Becky darted through to rifle a goal and then Caroline Brackenbury another to make it 3-1 at half time. Every one of our team was committed and involved, and Eleanor Wallace was correctly and actively calling for movement. “Make the ball do the work.”

An extremely vigorous half time involved many of us sharing ideas on strategy. Eleanor Wallace commented firmly that we were not using our wings enough, not playing wide enough. Mainly tracking up the centre-line and crowding in our opponents’ D, which made their defence-work  easier.

It seemed that our commendable urge to attack had blunted our match plan of playing wide. We took note   and resumed properly.

Quite quickly, Rose Cartwright slid invisibly into their D   to collect a driving cross from Ruby Ryan and diverted it (craftily   as ever) into the back of the net . 4-0. 

A bit of over-confidence crept in and Players struck back with a superbly taken goal.4-1.

So we settled down to sensible, strong play, directed by midfield, and supported by defence moving up but not leaving Gemma Robinson in goal,  unsupported,

Kate Parker burst through to score and an unmarked Becky took advantage again  of an opportunity, 6-1 ,  and that is how it stayed.

So far we have won all our matches, 94 goals scored and 6 against.

New target for the Season 100 goals. Can we make another 6 by end Feb ? YES !!

We have kept our place at the top of our League Division table and kept Players behind us.   Very well done, everyone