Stage 1 ‘Set the scene’
As the sun rose over the hills of Gloucestershire bathing the Brockworth hockey pitch in light, Lansdown Women’s 3s welcomed Stroud 1s to ‘The Fortress’. 16 Lansdown warriors with integrity, bravery and nobility of heart, stepped out to uphold their reputation.
Following on from their first win of the season last week, the players were left wanting more – more goals, more high fives and more self-satisfied slaps on the back! Having been shifted sideways from the West Women’s ‘Severn League’ into the ‘Berkley League’ with no apparent reasoning or consultation, every opposition is new to us. It at least makes the season exciting, with every game a journey into the unknown.
Stage 2 ‘Describe the game’
We won 2-1!
Stage 3 ‘Ranking teas’
As always, Brockworth Rugby Club did us proud. There were pies, jacket potatoes and mac and cheese with chips and gravy (oh, and salad – for decoration, presumably!) all washed down with various libations from the bar. 10/10
A shout out to the bar staff too, who managed to serve us all in a timely manner amongst all of the other rugby and hockey players watching football (?). The club was rammed and rocking.
Stage 4 ’Rating every player on the team’
Emma Haley – Stepped back into goal and made numerous stunning saves. It left Stroud thinking that she had covered the goal in a layer of clingfilm.
Eleanor Findlay – Scored the first goal from a penalty corner. Now that her duck has been broken, we hope the floodgates will open for the next match. So long as the duck doesn’t drown!
Jen Harvey – Scored the second goal after their defence overcommitted, but left it until the last few minutes to do so – Drama queen award!
Caitlin Brazier – Scurried around the pitch making their defence look pedestrian.
Holly Tow-Stevenson – Dominating her opposite number and playing some cracking balls.
Ellie Thomson – MoM! She made numerous trails up the pitch, which the opposition repeatedly failed to block! She had a short rest after expertly tackling a much larger player and relieving her of the ball. Maybe the umpire thought it was unfair of her to use her superior speed and skill!
Amy Godwin – Captain Fantastic led the troops to their victory! Also, jinking up the pitch making fools of many of the opposition as they dived in but failed to stop her.
Danni Coughlan – Also making jinking moves, and never stopped running – energy levels off the scale!
Edie Blackwell – Some sublimely timed tackling, taking the ball off anyone who dared to trespass into our 25.
Lucy Howell – Winning the ball in defence and then turning defence into attack with her trade-mark ‘turn the opposition inside-out’ move.
Katie Charlton – Left the opposition with nowhere to go, hoovering up anything missed by Captain Fantastic Godwin and tackle demon Blackwell.
Fudge – Playing in defence and up front (our utility player extraordinaire), she played some timely passes to relieve the defence, but also some sublime balls to bypass their midfield.
Smithy – Keeping everyone calm with her smooth and graceful playing style. We were fortunate that she made it on to the pitch though, as she did manage to lock herself in the loo! How come that didn’t get DoD?
Tic Hall – Injecting energy into the whole team and making some unselfish runs. She may not have got on the scoresheet this week, but you know that there’s always next week!
Snakey Privett – Keeping a cool head when the opposition kept speeding up the pitch at every opportunity. They were fast, but Snakey out-thought and out-played them!
Rab Roberts – DoD! Tried to even things up for the opposition and make a game of it. Finding the team 2-1 up with 2 minutes to go, she managed to upgrade a free hit to the opposition in a very innocuous position into a penalty corner. It did make for an exciting end, but the defence cancelled out the threat without breaking into a sweat.
Stage 5 ‘AOB’
In summary, as the spectators were heard to say ‘It was never in doubt who was going to win!’
Stage 6 ‘Looking ahead’
So, bring on Westberries 3 this Saturday. The Lansdown Women’s 3s are coming for you! Let’s just hope that the teas rank higher than the last time we played there at 5pm on a rainy Sunday – as Professor Brian Cox pointed out ‘Things can only get better’!