Ladies 1st XI Vs Boots 5

Report 1 April  2023  for club    from  South Nottingham Hockey Club 

South Nottingham Ladies 1 v Boots Ladies  5’s   9-1  to South Nottingham  HC

Captain Eleanor Wallace arrived with our team on a very early start at Lady Bay.  When Jo Shaw was asked “what sort of time do you think this is?” the brisk answer came back, “too early”. General agreement with that.

We had already won our League Division but Coach Euan Temple said that he hankered after a Goal Difference of 110 or more, so we must not go off the boil.

Certain players said that this request was like winning the Olympic 100m final in a World Record time, and on reaching the tape, to be told it was being combined with the 400m final; at once and asking for yet another World Record!

As ever, there was active, gritty determination from everyone that this revised target could, should, and would be achieved.  We knew  it would be an uphill struggle. It would mean doubling our beginning-of-season target of 60 goals scored. We were nearly there anyway, with a 105 Goalifference a week ago.

Last weekend position, one match to go.

Pl         Won    Dr         Lost       For      Ag   Goal Difference          Points

SNHC                                 19         18          1           0          117     11            105                                  33

This weekend present position, end of season .  Wow.

                                           Pl         Won    Dr         Lost       For     Ag    Goal Difference          Points

SNHC                                 20         19          1           0          126    12             114                                 36

West Bridgford 5             19         13         2            4            51     21               30                                  23

Boots  5                             20        11          1            8            54     60               -6                                  21

South Nottm were determined to stay unbeaten and we arrived 35 minutes before the match to warm up and practice, yet again, our planned tactical moves. 

Brisk usual pre-match pep-talk by Eleanor (Rock of Gibraltar) Wallace with an emphasis on developing and improving our inter-play. She re-emphasised our need to play wide.   Use our wing spaces to the full.  Our tactical plan must be to continue to create “possession hockey”. Clickety-click, short, accurate passes, keeping possession.  

 Boots are always swift to pick up and chase a loose ball. They were not chasing us so hard at the end of the season, and so close behind us in our League Division, without having great ability.

Because of rolling subs, not everyone below, was on the pitch at the same time nor in the same position. This made it very hard for Boots to deal effectively with player-to-player marking.

In the absence of Elizabeth Turner through injury,   stepping up as courageous volunteer today with the keeper’s pads was the valiant Gemma (normally our “Jet-Propelled” in attack, but today also “They shall not pass my goal-line”) Robinson. If Gemma, when padded up, scares her own side, we can guess how her opposition must feel!  She kept the door to her goal Firmly Shut until close to the end on a lightning counter-attack by Boots, left unprotected behind our back defenders, who were pushing up behind our midfield .

In front of Gemma were Eleanor Rock,   Jo (Barrier of the Pyrenees) Shaw, Freya  (the Meteor) Beaumont,  Fiona ( the Greyhound) Sweetman  and Katrina  (the Shrewd) Franklin.

Eleanor Rock was calling and constantly guiding the team, as a captain should. Our Team’s admirable movement and control throughout, highlighted why we have been consistently over-performing as a Team during this season.

All our Team kept moving into space, making ourselves available (despite Boots commendably getting in our way, most of the time), everyone dead keen to take responsibility and determined to contribute. From the technical excellence of our mid-field to the splendid finishing of our forwards, this aspect captured everything good about the Team individually and collectively.

And these were backed up by our steady and resolute defence, showing flair and creative  imagination.  Boots to some extent were outclassed by the pace and power of our defence. The clever reading of the game by Eleanor Rock, Jo Pyrenees, Fiona Greyhound, Freya Meteor and Katrina Shrewd enabled them all to be assisting in defence, in midfield to be shutting down counter-attacks, and to be up creating new opportunities in support of our forward line.

But the start was not good. We were put on a very hard defensive. We survived without conceding a goal. It was mostly because of our skill, our determination, our lung-busting defensive runs, and our speed, plus Gemma’s  resolute and capable  defence in goal.

 A very dodgy first quarter until Caroline (the Incomparable)  Brackenbury  marshalled midfield  and got our engine into formidable tune. We needed to lift our game to match the Boots energy and indeed did so, to unexpected heights, once again.

In midfield, Caroline  Incomparable (just back from skiing) , ranged wide and began to assert her capable control over the play-making. Whenever Boots passed the ball skilfully across midfield, Caroline Incomparable (as ever) just “happened” to be there nearly every time, to cut it off.   Caroline’s Artful Dodgers were Sophie (Tiger) Runciman,  Kate (the Terrier) Parker, Rose (the Crafty) Cartwright and Sophie  Atkinson (the Swift to Pounce, but also today piercing the Boots’ defence like a ‘Sunbeam’) .

Sophie Tiger, Sophie Sunbeam, Kate Terrier and Rose  Crafty kept wide, (as per our Game Plan) but frequently drifted inside and linked up to our forwards, with their slide-rule passes allowing Caroline Incomparable  to join jointly created overlaps, in a first half of gathering stature.   Every one pounced on any loose passes and created many new opportunities.  Their thoughtful, dynamic, intelligent play showed their skilled field-craft.  Ceaseless, purposeful motion by all. And the speed of each, left spectators gasping in admiration at our Team’s fluid, fluent, assured, untouchable best.

But Boots did not “cooperate”, they kept setting up their own attacks and kept us all under great pressure.  Nor did Boots surrender control of midfield to us; they contested every ball. Every time. And Boots had experienced forwards and midfield, with very capable (and obviously well-rehearsed) plans to try to break past our goal line.

Up front, we had Ruby  (the Rocket)  Ryan, Alex  (the Spear) Stephenson, Rachael (the Unseen Raider) Grupping,  Becky (the Comet),  and the inevitable Samantha (the Arrow) Markwick.

The clever plays of Ruby Rocket and Alex Spear were as usual a joy to behold, absolutely Rocketing and Spearing  down the wings, cutting inside,  slipping the ball sideways to  hoped-for unmarked colleagues, without slowing down or breaking stride. This kept causing mayhem in the otherwise solid Boots defence, Brilliant. 

The powerful speed and ball-control skills of both are awesome, combined with their F-1 style acceleration.

By half time, Rachael Raider was seen cleverly keeping drawing defenders by hugging the far post, lurking intelligently to enable another of us to be unmarked.  Ruby Rocket  and Sammy Arrow Markwick kept unerringly identifying weaknesses in the Boots defence. Their combined activity made life very uncomfortable for them. But Boots held out firmly.

With Rachael Raider and Sammy  Arrow skilfully drawing defenders, the path was clear for  Becky Comet to play like the  magician she is, turning, twisting, asking questions of Boots every minute.  Suddenly Becky Comet   shimmered though a gap with her acceleration-pace, jinking into the heart of the Boots’ defence, unseen and un-marked, to thump into the backboard, 1-0  to South Nottm after 15 minutes and certainly  against the run of play. Phew.

This gave an enormous boost to our Team.  Before half time, Rose Crafty   had dropped deep again, switched the play to her right, and rifled firm, accurate, selfless passes  to  enable Alex  Spear to thrust  one in, another  up to Becky Comet for her second.  Sophie Sunbeam did the same up to Sammy Arrow for Sammy’s  first.  Real Team efforts at all levels. A joy to watch.

At half time Eleanor Rock commented that to be 4-0 up at half-time against such a team was formidable but we must not be complacent.  We must make the ball do the work, relax and let our skills flow.

With us sitting on a 4 goal cushion, the ball comfortably in our possession, and the points (relatively) secure, we thought in the second half, that we had moved into an element of Cruise Control. But predictably, Boots had other ideas. Their new, constantly shifting, tactics kept us on the alert, and they kept thrusting hard to our goal line.

Gemma efficiently coped with whatever passed the iron wills of our backline, sprinting back to rescue,  but the nature of Boots’ creative counter-attacks to our own forward momentum was very unsettling to everyone.

In the second half, Kate Terrier shimmered from nowhere (again) to score, Becky Comet snatched 3 more goals,  Alex  Spear slid inside (again) , seized on a rebound, to tap  one past their unsighted keeper,   making it 9-0.  Our foot went off the accelerator pedal, and Boots promptly struck back with a fast consolation goal for them, to make it 9-1  to South Nottm.

Thank you to all our vocal touchline supporters over the season. Max  turn-out at an away match, including  Freya’s Mum, Gemma’s sister Lilli, and other supporters ,  plus Liz Foster who was not down to play, as due to be in Birmingham, but wanted to  (and did) see us start, succeed and finish as Unbeaten  Champions. Our Team spirit has been an Inspiration.  

Thanks also to our capable Umpires, to Caroline Incomparable as Fixtures Secretary,   and for the constant vocal support at Home Matches of the Men’s 3rd XI arriving early for their games, and in particular the constant encouragement of Club Captain Neil Batty and  of Club Chairman Simon Recaldin. Well done everyone. Top of our League Division, a record Goal Difference and next season, Promotion. Wow and triple wow.