The match took place at King’s School, Ely, on the most exposed hilltop in the Fens, overlooked by the sentinel-like presence of Ely’s cathedral tower. Sarah declared “Ely is the coldest place on earth”; there was some discussion that the coldest place in Ely had to be the railway station. Despite the challenging weather conditions, the players were joined by a number of ‘groupies’ from the men’s teams, and shouts of encouragement from these virile males definitely instilled bravado in the Ladies! There was no question about it: South just had to win this Cup Final!

The match started on time at 1.30pm, both teams keen to get going in the blustery wind. South’s Seconds, arriving early at the venue, had even had time to warm up and psyche-up on Jelly babies. South were determined to win the match, and this dominance was most prevalent in the first half of the game. Energies were slightly depleted by the final quarter, coupled with the needlessness of having to score any more goals against the opposition!

South won the first push back and, with a following wind, made their way up the pitch into the Market Deeping D within the first minute. South’s mid-field and forwards were well spaced; South were playing textbook hockey, which was a pleasure to watch, and the pressure was on. A short corner was awarded to South and AI made a strong hit but it trolloyed over the backline within a metre of the goalpost. Market Deeping’s hit-out was completely encircled, and South soon took possession again, pushing forward. An opportunistic slip-shot by Mel put the first goal in after 10 minutes.

Market Deeping’s push-back was then channelled into a long hit into South’s half; Market Deeping dribbled quickly up towards South’s D. Daisy’s forceful defence kept them out of the D; the ball was cleared from South’s half comprehensively. South ran up the pitch with some clean passes and went for their third chance on goal: Mel passed to Bex but her conversion went just past the goalpost. Another shot on goal saw a Market Deeping defender, facing the wrong way, deflect the ball over the line into their own goal after 14 minutes. The last South player to touch the ball was Charlie; this goal was therefore attributed to her. The Market Deeping defender was distraught and squatted at the sideline in disbelief at this unfortunate quirk of physical forces.

Some tussling on the right wing after the Market Deeping push-back saw a tangle of legs and sticks which sent Lou tumbling, but unhurt. Bex was well placed on the left wing to take up the ball. Play moved into the D again, Mel took a twisting sweep on the ball like a discus thrower, but the ball went past the left post by a couple of metres. A great ‘oooh’ was let out by the onlookers. A hit-out was intercepted swiftly by South and AI won a free hit just outside the D; this made contact with a Market Deeping defender’s foot and South were awarded a short corner. AI’s strike on goal was deflected by a Market Deeping stick, and the ball glanced off the pitch. The long corner brought no luck and Market Deeping were able to clear the ball and move up into South’s half of the pitch. Market Deeping’s first short corner was cleared efficiently by Jodee; the long corner failed to make inroads into South’s solid defence.

Play was in South’s favour again. A strong pass from Mel to Cat presented an opportunity to score but Market Deeping managed to keep the ball out. Another short corner was received by AI but she wasn’t able to find a way through the defenders. On hit-outs, Market Deeping’s defenders were noticeably static; they were however, very fast to break with the ball once in possession. Another frustrating scuffle took place in the Market Deeping D but once again, South weren’t able to get through their defence. A long corner offered another chance on goal and the ball went into the D twice but South were repulsed. Bex took another chance but she was unable to get her stick to the ball. Mel took another swing but there were too many defenders. A long corner was then translated into a short corner; this brought no joy again and went wide of the goal. The Market Deeping hit-out had little chance of offering them a break in their favour, and some rapid passing up the pitch by South gave Mel and Bex a chance on goal. Bex received a raised ball from Mel and she expertly adjusted her stick to send it towards the backboard just before half-time.

Half time score: Cambridge South 3 – Market Deeping 0

Market Deeping gained more of the play in the second half, typical of South’s second halves this season. With three goals in the bag South could have slipped into complacency, but the desire to make this a ‘good one’ never fully deserted the team’s mindset.

Market Deeping broke out hard on the second half push-back but South took control again quickly. Vicky hassled the Market Deeping midfield determinedly. Market Deeping’s bunching gave South the chance to use either Bex or Mel on either of the wings. Another chance on goal saw South awarded another short corner; 4 or 5 chances to shoot just couldn’t be made into a goal, much to everyone’s frustration. Was this the wind conspiring to keep the ball away from the goal-mouth? There was a short delay as the Market Deeping goalkeeper fixed a broken kicker strap. At the opposite end of the pitch stood South’s goalie, ‘lonely Loopy’, resplendent in her canary yellow kit, having seen little play at this stage. This was soon to change.

Play recommenced and Mel made it into the D but couldn’t find a way to score. Market Deeping’s energies rallied and they gained advantage of the game; a massive hit gave them the opportunity for a sideline hit in South’s half of the pitch and a shot on goal passed just 3 metres wide of the post. South picked up their senses and returned to attacking mode, but another break by Market Deeping presented a clear danger to South; their shot on goal was kicked out by Loopy. Market Deeping’s next short corner failed as Loopy managed to kick the ball away again. Market Deeping returned into the D and an obstruction by South’s defence saw them awarded with another short corner; fortunately Market Deeping failed to score from this. The hit out was intercepted by Jodee who stole away with the ball up the wing towards the half-way line, thence passing the advantage to South’s forwards. A short corner awarded to South was wasted and the ball passed over the backline. Market Deeping switched up the pitch and a shot on goal from a great distance was left to go over the line by Loopy. Everyone was relieved at this sage decision to leave the ball well alone.

Attacking again, South found their way into the D and Mel found the goalmouth exposed and slipped the ball past the keeper to score the fourth goal of the match after 25 minutes. Market Deeping took the push-back and, unflagging, caught South unawares with a strong offence. South’s midfield players quickly returned to assist their defenders. Mel broke with the ball from the half-way line into Market Deeping’s D but her strike was well defended. Taking the ball into South’s D, a Market Deeping forward took a shot at Loopy who took a great kick at the ball, dispatching it to the 25 metre line. Daisy collected the ball and moved it forwards. Mel crossed the D with the ball and it was swiped into the goal by Bex.

Market Deeping’s push-back was soon followed by a nasty tackle on Mel’s foot; she opted to sub-out for a few minutes and I subbed in, to assist in a short corner. No goal was forthcoming and another 2 long corners and another short-corner failed to see the ball go into the goal. Market Deeping defended very well. Mel returned to the pitch and I subbed-off, nursing my Achilles tendon which was protesting after less than 5 minutes on the pitch. South’s final goal was made by Charlie in the last 5 minutes of play.

Market Deeping had an air of urgent desperation upon the next push-back and good stick-skills turned to hacking measures; Daisy was hit twice by a Market Deeping player who was determined to pass the ball through her, and she fell to the ground clasping her knee (site of an old injury). Market Deeping’s forwards pushed ahead, not hearing the umpire’s whistle, and took a shot on goal which sent Loopy diving spectacularly across the goal like a Premiership football goalie, arm and stick outstretched. The goal was disallowed [ed – actually, it went wide. And play went back for the previous whistle]; Daisy picked herself up to play the remaining 2 minutes of the game. South made another gallant effort to score but Mel’s cross was thwarted by a Market Deeping defender. The final whilst was blown just after South took a long corner.

Full time score: Cambridge South 6 – Market Deeping 0

After the match, players and supporters made their way to The Fountain pub for ‘refreshments’. Sadly, I was informed that one of Market Deeping’s key forward players was absent from the game owing to a close family bereavement. We should like to offer our sincere condolences to her.