Ladies 2s triumph in friendly against Leamington

The last time the Ladies 2s played against Leamington was at the start of the season and resulted in a 4-1 loss. So we knew that we were in for a tough game and would have to work hard to get a win.

Leamington started off well and put a lot of pressure on the 2s in all areas of the pitch. However Jacqui Barlow made various saves to keep Hawks in the game. The 2s defence also remained composed on the ball, making it difficult for Leamington to utilise their chances.

After some hard work to get to the Leamington D, Hawks were awarded a penalty corner. Jo Hutton converted our first goal from a straight strike at the top of the D. Leamington reacted by working their way into the D moments after Jo scored. The 2s defence were up to the challenge and cleared the ball again.

At half time, Andy reiterated the importance of concentrating on what we had discussed in our pre-match team talk. This seemed to give the 2s a new lease of life when they started again in the second half. The 2s passed the ball well and plenty of off the ball movement from all of the forwards, created various opportunities in the D resulting in many penalty corners.

Zoe Lamb's skills put further pressure on the Leamington defence and the 2s were awarded another penalty corner. A 1-2 between Annie Lissington and Kara Kerr resulted in another goal making the score 2-0.

The 2s continued to play some excellent hockey for the remainder of the half and were unfortunate not to get another goal when they were awarded another penalty corner late on in the game.

The game finished 2-0, which was a very positive start for the 2s and sets us up well for our first league game against Reading on Saturday.

Thanks to Clive Jones for the photos.

Squad

Jacqui Barlow, Melissa Carrier, Anna Clark, Sue Clark, Jo Hutton, Kara Kerr, Zoe Lamb, Annie Lissington, Georgia Perkins, Lisa Scragg, Bex Strange, Jo Tolson, Beth Warne, Molly Warne, Claire Werlinger

Player of the match: Beth Warne

Scorers