Cheam L3s 0 - 1 Berrylands L1s

The weather was amazing, coaches were around and the team were on time (most of them), we were off to a great start. After a quick discussion on strategy and a slightly more lengthy session deciphering Coach Shaun's scrawl, we all knew where to start, and had a rough idea of what these knew positions entailed.
The new skipper had a few words of wisdome, which went something like this ...
'No picking on the umpires' and 'Sharing is caring ladies, pass the ball, no one wants to sped the match decorating the field'. Armed with these wise words the team took their starting positions.

Doak kindly started in goal for us (we love you Doak), with the Cheam defenders defending hard I'm not sure Doak even got to see a ball in her 15 minute debut. Little Em finally arrived, stopped play and made her grand appearance on the field, we love all our goalies, no favourites among the Cheam Ladies teams.

The passing was great, not all of them perfectly aimed, we are the 3s after all, but we had the right idea. There were lots of words of encouragement, and helpful tips. It was like a big happy family. The half time whistle finally blew which meant a few minutes of much needed rest and rehydration. After a quick team talk (thanks Shaun) a few more words of encouragement we were good to go, time to turn the 0-0 to a score in our favour.

Berrylands decided to come out fighting and with this new found ferocity, the ball was going all over. The ladies got to practice their aerial stops and when they couldn't manage that, they showed their commitment by using their bodies to ensure that ball didn't make it to the D. Thanks Ellie, you're the best when it comes to body blocking.
Even with the skill of some of our 'helper' players (Jacko), the injured (Browne) and gameless (Better Naerger & Jodie) we struggled to get that ball onto the backboard. The oppo took a sneaky little free hit from the sideline, which went directly into the D and they scored, (hmmmm ... if the Umpires of the Ladies Eurohockey final can miss a foot, we can forgive the Div 8 umpire that over site).

With the score now 0 - 1, we upped our attacking game with some brilliant runs up the field. Laura, Bryony & Better Naerger were very busy at the front, and the defenders now turned attackers were constantly sending the ball to them but the Berrylands veteran goalie stood her ground. We did have some very narrow misses, which must mean our aim is improving.

A special thanks from the Ladies 3s team to the supporters club. Your constant shouting and encouragement we very much appreciated and your Costa coffees were the envy of the 3s Captain, not sure she could concentrate with the aroma of coffee wafting over the field.

Thanks for a fantastic game everyone. Let's see if next weekends score is weighted in Cheams favour.