Long Stratton Football Club

LSFC Ladies Team Match Reports

Long Stratton Ladies 1 Hockering Ladies 0
Scorer: N. Child
The Wishing Tree P.o.M: J. Head

Team: Walker, B. Head, J. Head (c), Medcalf, Drewry, Hunwicks- Rush, Loynes, Steward, Child, Watson, Watts, Robinson.

A windy afternoon at Manor Road saw Long Stratton Ladies take on league leaders Hockering. Anticipation was high after a recent run of good results has seen the ladies undefeated in 2011 so far. The squad was bolstered by our new signing Louise Robinson allowing us to name a sub for the first time in a few matches.
The match itself was a relatively even affair with both teams looking to steal a victory in the blustery conditions. Stratton started slowly taking a bit of time to find their feet and absorbed the early Hockering pressure, before taking the game to Hockering and showing some beautiful passing and counter attacking play. As the first half drew to a close neither team looked to be in control of the game.
The second half saw Stratton kicking into the wind and Hockering tried to take advantage of this using the wind to their advantage and attempting the 'over the top' ball to their centre forwards. Some grit defending from the "Heads" at the back and hard work from the Stratton midfield managed to keep Hockering chances to a minimum, with Teresa showing her pace off her line to collect any loose balls bouncing around. With five minutes left on the clock a well deserved draw looked to be on the cards, until a moment of magic saw Stratton take the lead. A long clearance up the right hand side was poorly dealt with by the Hockering centre backs allowing Nadia to dispossess her before slipping past another Hockering player, spotting the keeper off her line and dispatching a curling left foot effort into the top left hand corner of the goal. The final five minutes took an eternity as we soaked up the pressure dealt with a succession of corners, but inevitably the whistle went and three points won.
An awesome performance against a seasoned Hockering team who have been playing together for several seasons now. Another highlight on what has been a good first season for the ladies so far. Congratulations to Jenny Head for a P.o.M performance on her return from injury, solid as a rock once again. Thanks to A. Seaman & S. Harvey for running the line & to L. Seaman for refereeing.