South Central League Premier 2 Division 25/09/21
Banbury HC Ladies 1s - 1, Buckingham Ladies 2s - 0
This was the first game of a new full season, which everyone has been looking forward to for such a long time. Due to league restructuring, Banbury Ladies found themselves in a league higher than they played last time, and it was somewhat of an unknown as to how things were going to go.
It was a pretty warm day, so fitness and stamina were likely to come into play, yet despite the unseasonably warm day, the Banbury Ladies were on it from the off and were playing high-intensity energetic hockey, which Buckingham found difficult to deal with. Banbury got a short within the first minute and four more within the next 15 to 20 minutes, but unfortunately, nothing came directly from all the pressure that Banbury were applying. That said, it was whilst Banbury were pressing in the D after a short, that on 22 mins, Pip Jones swept the ball past a despairing Buckingham backline.
It can’t be argued that Banbury had the best of the 1st half, but the second half was a different story. Whilst Banbury still had chances, it was pressure, pressure, pressure from a fired-up Bucks side, who appeared to be getting more and more frustrated with being behind. Our ladies soaked up the immense pressure, and the defence held firm; many great tackles were made and the back 4 worked tirelessly for each other. A crucial moment occurred when an unfortunate deflection from one of our ladies was heading for goal, but Krissy Bull was in the right place at the right time, and from the goal line, pushed it away to safety. I think that summed up the great team effort shown by all.
Whilst it could have been 15 MOM’s, the team voted for Pip (our goal scorer) and Zoe (who worked tirelessly and appeared to be everywhere, and on was the pitch for the full 70 mins!). Great game, great result, and great team effort.
Bryce Wilkinson (Ladies 1s Manager)
