Another day another win

It might not have been a league game but there was nothing friendly about our encounter with the ‘ladies’ from deepest, darkest Bolton. We knew we had a lot to prove against the North Prem side, and despite an influx of new players and a sparkly new coach, there was a subdued vibe in the changing rooms. Fortunately things soon picked up after the warm-up, and any doubts over ‘sparkly’ Rick’s commitment to the team were dispelled when he went behind enemy lines to find out their gossip and get us totally fired up for the game ahead.

For the first fifteen minutes there was confusion on the sideline as to why Team GB had turned up at Brooklands HC in a new green kit to give Bolton a spanking, as strings of textbook passes took the complacent opposition by surprise. Players old and new worked together seamlessly and supported each other all over the pitch, with no fewer than six short corners being awarded in the first half alone. Whilst only one of these was successfully converted by Rhi ‘Super-Strike’ Sears, the work-rate of everyone involved was faultless with plenty of sticks poised for deflections every time. Next up was El Capitano Jennie Brown who took on the entire Bolton defence to secure an assist, taking the score to a solid 2-0 at half-time.

The Wanderers must have had a firm kick up the backside during the break, as they came out strong in the second half to slot away a sloppy consolation goal before winning a string of short corners. Nevertheless, the Brooklands defence was more than prepared to handle the opposition’s set-pieces, and the ball was cleared each time before the strikers could even get a shot off. This momentary lapse in concentration was enough to get us going again, and celebrity subs Turner and Evans capitalised on a nice spell of Brooklands rinse to slot away another few goals between them. This obviously didn’t go down well with the Bolton back line, as their full-back decided to take matters into her own hands and get all up in Rhi’s grill. Completely unfazed, we responded shortly after in the only way we knew how – slamming a final goal into the top corner to seal the deal and end the game 6-1.

Man of the Match went unanimously to Mel ‘The Hulk’ Smith for a solid defensive performance and an amazing match-report... (ahem). After a toss-up with Mich Thomas’ ‘exciting’ clearance skills, Dick of the Day was awarded to Tilly Dyos, who decided to save a textbook reverse-stick super-goal until the dying seconds of the game. Clearly a case of not wanting to show up the rest of the team and saving further embarrassment to the opposition, but a fine is still on its way.

Thanks to Jess and CJ for stepping in to umpire at the last minute.
Well done to all on a great team performance – here’s to a fantastic season and promotion back into Prem!