Friday night we were all keen to get back back into hockey and start the second half of the season. The possibility of snow in the morning made us all slightly anxious that the game would be cancelled but Charlie gave us the good news about 10 am on Saturday that the pitch had thawed and the game was on!

As we arrived at the beautiful pitch at Royal Russell School after a much easier journey for most than expected we realised it was another day when DoD was going to be confirmed before the match even started. Phoebe had got the wrong postcode and was on her way to Wimbledon rather than East Croydon. This detour was made much worse by the fact Phoebe also had kindly offered to bring the goalie kit so Nielsen, Phoebe and kit were going to be arriving late. Just after our pre-game team talk we see Nielsen sprinting over with the goalie kit and Simm our eager goalie running to greet her.

We start with 11 on pitch and make a good start but also quite quickly realise it’s going to be a competitive match. Despite the good start from the Gamblers Ladies a goal was conceded, leaving Addiscombe in the lead. However it wasn’t long before Nielsen received the ball at the half way line and took it down to the 25 before a good pass to Rosie at the top of the D who had been supporting her the whole way down the pitch. Rosie then showed us her sticks skills and by-passed a couple of the oppo to turn round and get a cracking goal! 1-1 The game continued on a good note and there were a couple of attempts by girls to try and take DoD from Phoebe such as Flic throwing herself on the ground and the ball or Nielsen subbing herself off after a matter of minutes on pitch.

Coach Kevin delivered an effective half time team talk and changed the formation. The second half started with a good level of enthusiasm and there was improved communication from the whole team. Then queue the cheering, as Rosie scored a second cracking goal. The back line did some great work with a particular mention to Liv. Another good team effort and the ball was received in the top right corner with Laura passing the ball into Rosie who scored her hat-trick!

Final score: 3-1 with celebrations at our lovely match tea, hosted by Addiscombe.

The evening then finished in The Merchant where MoM Rosie nominated Captain Charlie to do her pint and Charlie did the girls proud by arguably beating the boys since she was marginally behind but with no spillage! Phoebe gave a valiant performance too but did unfortunately come last.

A big thanks to the umpires particularly Jordan who umpired on our behalf last minute.

In summary…

Man of the Match: Rosie G. (3 goals, need we say more?)
Dick of the Day: Phoebe H. (for hijacking the goalie kit and taking it to the wrong pitch!)