All the results and action from the first weekend, with the first ever National League match taking place at Beldams Lane.
| Team | Opponent | Result | Team | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Ipswich 1(H) | L 3-0 | M1 | Broxbourne 1 (A) | W 5-2 |
| L2 | Shefford and Sandy 1(H) | W 3-0 | M2 | Letchworth 2 (H) | L 3-7 |
| L3 | Letchworth 2 (A) | W 3-0 | M3 | Cheshunt 1 (A) | W 5-1 |
| L4 (Archdeaconesses) | Cheshunt 1 (H) | W 3-0 | M4 | Rickmansworth 1 (A) | L 1-6 |
| L5 | Letchworth 4 (A) | W 5-1 | M5 | Rickmansworth 2(H) | L 0-3 |
| L6 (Acolytes) | Havering 3 (H | W 3-0 | |||
| L7 | Letchworth 5 (H) | W 8-0 | |||
| L8 (Curates) | L9’s (H) | W 7-0 | |||
| L9 | L8 | L 7-0 |
BSHC L1’s 0 v Ipswich 1’s 3 (home)
Vitality National Conference East
For the Stortford Ladies the realities of hockey in the top flight are hitting home and the ‘fine margins’ between victory and defeat are being made apparent in cruel fashion. After the disappointment on the road at Guildford for the second week running Stortford played well but with no reward. For long periods of the game Stortford dominated possession and won turn-overs high up the pitch but could not create any clear cut openings in the final third, once again finding themselves up against strong, skilful and well organised opponent. This time it was Ipswich who frustrated the Stortford side.
Coach Nick Prowse Prowse was pleased with the performance if not the result, ‘We are learning the hard way that small mistakes get severely punished at this level. For much of the second half we enjoyed possession and were knocking at the door but we were unable to capitalise creating very few clear cut chances in the circle. Ipswich, on the other hand, were clinical in the first half taking both their chances but in the second half, apart from a couple of good saves from Ali Martyn in goal, we were not under any pressure.’
‘We more than matched our opponents for long periods of the game and had equal amounts of pressure but full credit to Ipswich who were clinical in the D and took their chances very well.’
Once in each half Abbie Barrett went close with deflected shots that just missed the target by contrast Ipswich were ruthless with their few chances and Stortford found themselves two down at half time. However they rallied to produce a battling second half performance, driven on from midfield by the impressive Katie Richards, and in front of a large home crowd enjoying National League hockey for the first time, a comeback was a real possibility and, but for the dogged defence of a well drilled Ipswich defence, who cleared shots off the line and defended resolutely, Stortford might have gained something from the game when they earned a flurry of short corners but they came to nothing and an Ipswich breakaway produced a late third goal against the run of play and a score line that flattered the visitors.
BSHC M1’s 5 v Broxbourne 1’s 2
East Division 1 South
When we think of some of the greatest sporting rivalries you may think of El Clasico, The Old Firms, The North London Derby, however written in the scriptures of East Herts exists an older rivalry – Bishop’s Stortford vs Broxbourne. After years of league separation, the stars had aligned to see the two titans clash once again. The stage was set, the sun was out, the neighbours had lit the fires (literally), Coach Ahmed had spoken… Show time.
Broxbourne keen to establish dominance were quick out of the gates showing their Prem A experience by moving the ball around quickly and putting the Stortford side under pressure. With confident Badger cheers of ‘Great Start’, they must have felt the game was theirs for the taking. It was Broxbourne who were able to strike the first blow with a counter from their own 25. With the ball fired into the D, the usually impenetrable padded wall, that is Ryan Cruwys was able to save the first deflection but only for the ball to fall to a waiting striker who put it in the back of the net.
The Stortford side not put off by the Badgers early advantage continued to put the pressure on. Our first opportunity came from Club Captain, Jack Wheaton, slinging ball down the centre of the pitch from the halfway line only for it to find the opposition centre back. Quicker than Frenzel is to the showers after a match, forwards Richard Heywood and Jon Taylor were quickly able to recover the ball off the defender for a two on one past the final defender for Jon to comfortably pass the ball into the back of the net. A goal straight out of the training ground and that saw us head into half time tied.
With Coach Ahmed during the half time talk demanding structure, aggression, and strength on the ball – it was clear what we needed to do to convert the win. The second half was away and Stortford with the coaches’ words ringing in our ears were firing on all cylinders. One man who was the shining example of strength on the ball was Kier Ansell. With cries of structure and composure coming from the Broxbourne bench, their centre back passed a ball straight up the pitch to their midfielder, who before he even knew had the ball, had it swiftly taken off by a courageous tackle from Kier who was then able to pass the ball on for a counter to win the Short. With both injectors on the bench, it was for all-rounder Mr Andy ‘Drew’ Round to put the ball into play. With speed and accuracy, the ball found its way at the top of the D for Jack Wheaton to find his mark in the bottom left-hand corner. Stortford had taken the lead, but the oppositions home crowd remained supportive and tried to get their team back on track.
Broxbourne not rattled by losing the lead kept their composure on and off the ball to form an aggressive counter to secure their first short corner of the second half. With the Stortford defence team able to fend off the oppositions initial short corner attempts in the first half, a slap from the top of the D was able to find a diving deflection to get past Mr Cruwys. The game was tied once again.
With countering and movement off the ball being key attributes of preseason training, a ball fired up from our 25 found Rich Heywood who was able to out-pace his opposing number to get the ball up to just outside the oppositions D only to meet a flat stick from their centre back. Fortunately, Oli Plummer was able to follow up to secure the ball to win the free hit only for the opposition to knock the ball away in frustration that would see that free hit upgraded to a short corner. *Jack Wheaton Enters the Conversation*. With Jack already finding his mark once, he was confident that we would be able to do the same again which queue an injection to the top of the D, Jack was able to do by slinging the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
With timing running out the Broxbourne side quickly restarted the game looking to use the left side of the pitch as their potential route to goal. Unfortunately for them lying in wait was Defender Alex Hall, who like a thief in the night, was able to not only recover the ball but send the ball down the line to a waiting forward Rich Heywood. Rich keen to keep the oppositions defence firmly in his pocket was not only able to recover the ball after being taken out but was able to find the defenders foot to win the short. *Jack Wheaton Re Enters the Conversation* a recurring theme. With the opposition’s short corner defence padded, ready and waiting, Jack knew what he had to do. With the injection finding its mark at the top of the D in quick time, Jack was able to find his mark to secure his hattrick sending the ball into the top left corner. The home crowd stunned into silence.
With the game in the dying minutes and the Stortford side not wanting to lift off the pressure, Jack Wheaton was able to aerial the ball over a deflated Broxbourne side into the opposing 25 finding the waiting Stortford midfielders only for Jon Taylor to fire ball into the D for Rich ‘Haaland’ Heywood to lift the ball over a downed keeper into the back of the net. Three points in the bag.
BSHC L2’s 3 v Shefford and Sandy 1 (Home) 0
East Division 2 South West
Stortford 2’s secured back-to-back wins with a 3-0 home victory over Shefford and Sandy.
The hosts started brightly, a ball in the opening minutes flashing across the goal just out of reach of the on rushing forward. Several more chances fell to Stortford but they were unable to capitalise until midway through the half when they finally made a breakthrough. Suzanne Holmes winning a penalty corner that Millie slotted home from a tight angle The visitors made little headway in the first half, their rare runs into the Stortford half were dealt with by the experienced defence. Stortford continued to dominate possession, Natasha Reid working tirelessly through the midfield, putting the Shefford defence under pressure but were unable to find another before the halftime break.
Recharged, Shefford found a bit more form after the break and won their first penalty corner, but Stortford defended it well and cleared the danger. Stortford temporarily went down to 10 players, Rori Fletcher judged not to have retreated far enough from a quick free hit, but Shefford failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage. As Fletcher returned to the pitch to even up the sides, Dutchie pounced on a defensive error in a flash, taking the ball into the d and confidently finding the bottom corner, leaving the keeper looking on helplessly.
As the game started to slip away from them, Shefford began to get frustrated, resulting in two more green cards. Stortford sealed the win from another well rehearsed short corner routine. Anna Sydes with a deft flick of the wrist deflecting home from Darcy Edwards strike. Final score 3-0 and another team bites the dust as Stortford top the table after the opening two fixtures. Next week they travel away to Blueharts 2’s.
Player of the match: Natasha Reid
BSHC M2’s 3 v Letchworth 2’s 7 (away)
East Division 2 South West
The Mens 2s first home fixture in Div 2SW brought hopes of gaining the first points of the campaign following a narrow defeat to last season’s second place team the week before. Stortford welcomed last season’s third place team Letchworth 2s to Hockerill on another warm sunny afternoon. With a strong squad and optimism leading into the push-back, unfortunately it was Letchworth who started the brightest, scoring within the first minute before Stortford could settle into the game.
There were many positives in the first half, notably from ball pace and work-rate through the forward lines, however too often Stortford failed to recover on the break and a clinical Letchworth side picked up several goals and corners. A well worked move from the back saw Harry McKerral turn in a ball from Aaron Watts, showing that Stortford could mount some pressure of their own, but went into the break 1-5 down.
The second half saw a much improved performance, with Stortford able to string together several attacks and win a couple of penalty corners. Goals from MIke Taylor and an excellent reverse stick strike from Miles Lax-Tanner gave Stortford some confidence, however it was disappointing to come away with a 3-7 loss on the first home fixture.
BSHC L3 3 v Letchworth 2’s 0
East Div 3SW
A superb performance from the whole of the ladies 3xi saw them get their first win of the league season. The 1st half was end to end with chances saved and missed at both ends and the score remaining at 0-0 as both teams came in for their team talk. STORTFORD came out in the 2nd half with renewed fire and it wasn’t long before they were rewarded with a short corner. Lizzie Motson put out a ball to Player of the match Gracie Cowan who neatly put away her first goal of the match. Shortly after Suzy Fletcher made a great baseline run passed to Jen Pearce who popped it across to Gracie Cowan who put it home to make it her 2nd of the match. Fired up Stortford kept applying the pressure and a quickly taken long corner by Katy Motson saw her drive into the D and put the ball away for Stortford’s third goal of the half. A well deserved win with the whole team playing their part.
BSHC M3’s 5 v Cheshunt 1’s 1
East Division 3 South West
Stortford 3s had their first home game of the season looking to bounce back after a disappointing defeat in the first round. Stortford started brightly and opened the scoring after 15 minutes from a brilliant finish from Luke Farmer who found the top corner on his reverse. The second came just 5 minutes later after good play from Jake Anders in the middle, who found Farmer, who again put it past the keeper from a reverse hit keeping it low this time. Great play from Ollie Leonard down the right found Tom Nash who got a shot away, which was stopped by the Cheshunt keeper however Jak Bareham pounced on the rebound to make it 3-0.
The second half started as the first half finished, with Stortford on top and pressing for a 4th. Good play between Toby Warnes and Ossie Bannister found a foot in the D, with Sev Warren converting the short corner with a drag flick past the keeper to make it 4-0. Cheshunt managed to get 1 back with 10 minutes remaining, however Stortford responded quickly with Nash firing a shot from the top of the D past the keeper to make it 5-1.
BSHC Archdeaconesses 3 v Cheshunt 1’s 0
East Division 3 South West
Ladies ADs faced a tough opposition in their first home league game against Cheshunt. The first half was pretty even with end to end play until the ADs took the lead, with only a few minutes until half time, from a short corner – started and ended by Zoe Barford, who got on the end of Elizabeth Reay’s strike to give Stortford the lead.
The ADs came out strong in the second half with some great play down the right hand side – player to player precision passing. The second goal, again from a short corner, Reay passed to Hannah Wynne with a ferocious strike picked up by Barford, who slipped it across the goal for Amelia Leach to knock home at the post..
The defence worked hard to maintain a clean sheet with Ros Brown, Lori McLiesh, Rachel Hickman and Kess Levy staying really strong.
The final goal came from open play, with some excellent passing into the D. The ball lifted off the defender and Barford was in for her second to make it 3-0. A great team effort lead to a convincing win
BSHC M4’s 1 v Rickmansworth 1’s 6
East Division 4 South West
BSHC L5’s 5 v Letchworth 4’s 1
East Div 5 South West
The 5s who were away at Letchworth had a great match today ending with a winning score of 5-1. Goal scorers were Meghan Maybanks, Hannah Fowke, Laura McBride and Charlotte Turner (2). Stortford enjoyed most of the possession, Letchworth scoring a consolation goal from a short corner after a counter attack in the second half. Meghan Maybanks was awarded player of the match, for her tireless running up the right hand side consistently
BSHC M5’s 0 v Rickmansworth 2’s 3
East Div 5 South West
BSHC Acolytes (6’s) 3 v Havering 3’s 0
East Division 5 South East
The game started with some initial Havering pressure in mid field. However in the third minute, Stortford gained possession in a good position releasing Jo Sullivan down the right wing who played a strong ball into the D, finding Savannah Taylor who turned it in for a great left post goal. A minute later Stortford secured a short corner but were unable to convert. Havering followed up with some good moves to bring the ball high into Stortford D. Léa Gillespie made an excellent goal line clearance to relieve the pressure.
For the second goal, Stortford got the ball in to Sullivan, who was well positioned on the left post to slot home for a 2-0 lead at the break.
The second half started brightly with some good interplay leading to an early goal from Izzy Lawrence who turned in from close range. Stortford continued some excellent adventurous plays with great runs from Emma Cox out of defence, well supported by the mid field.
Near the end Naomi Holloway stole possession from the Havering forwards and fed to daughter Elizabeth who laid it off to Taylor whose shot just skimmed the post. The dominant mid field performance, featuring joint PoM’s Elizabeth Clune and Léa Gillespie, continued as the match was closed out for a 3-0 win.
BSHC L7’s 8 v Letchworth 5’s 0
East div 6 South West
BSHC Curates (8’s) 7 v BSHC L9’s
East Div 7 South West
The newly formed 9th XI played their first ever league match against another Stortford side. Graduates from the summers Back to Hockey programme playing their first competitive matches as well as three of our juniors making their debuts for the senior sides.
