Ladies' 1sts beat Huntingdon in a nail-biting finish

Possibly the most nail biting/bench wetting match of the season so far - Cambridge South ladies 1s stayed true to their ethos that a match should never be won without complication.

South began with what can only be described as a ‘slow start’. Whether it was the early morning game (thank you Cambridge City); the number of drinks from the night before (honestly) or straight forward complacency, Huntingdon capitalised early with a goal in the first 5 minutes. Despite the majority of pressure being exerted by South in the opposition’s D, Huntingdon were able to gain another swift break (gosh that number 52 was quick) and by the time South had realised what was happening, Huntingdon had slotted another one past a disgruntled Loopy.

Not long after, skipper Georgie had a dramatic tumble in the centre of the pitch following a trip over an opposition player’s stick and landed full force on her ankle. After inspecting the damage and finding an ankle the size of a small grapefruit, she hobbled off the pitch to resume shouting duties from the side line. So, whether it was the 2-0 score line or the addition of a sprightly Hayley in to the centre midfield, the Southerners appeared to experience a resurgence which resulted in one of the most exciting come backs the team has seen in the past few years.

South piled on the pressure with some excellent 1-2 passing through the midfield and into the D. Eventually, this resulted in a well directed pass by Hayley in to the D on to the end of Alice’s stick, who then slotted the ball in to the back corner.

The half time whistle blew and South realised what they had to do. With instructions for the forwards to ‘push up’ and make themselves a nuisance at the goal mouth, they proceeded to do just that and dominated the play. Huntingdon appeared to tire and had fewer chances with only the occasional flurry in to South’s defensive half. These were calmly dealt with by some excellent interceptions and clearances from the South back four. The second half resulted in an abundance of goals for the home side, with some excellent play by Sian Tomlin on the left hand side of the pitch with resulted in a goal for her after a pass from a South short corner. South continued to take full advantage of their short corners, with Alice Hug smacking another one in to the back of the net not long after. After a scuffle at the goal mouth, Caroline Dent cooley slotted in the final goal which marked the end of a consecutive five goal frenzy.

At the final whistle, a bewildered Huntingdon side left the pitch not knowing quite what had hit them whilst the jubilant South team celebrated their 3rd successive win of the season. All in all, it was a fantastic display by the Cambridge girls and similarly by Huntingdon ladies, with both teams showing great determination and providing a very entertaining 70 minutes of hockey.

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