All the results and action from the weekend. A great set of results for the club, of the thirteen matches played, there were nine wins, two draws and two losses.
| Team | Opponent | Result | Team | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1 | Chelmsford 1 (H) | L 3-2 | M1 | St Albans 2(H) | W 4-1 |
| L2 | Blueharts 2 (A) | W 1-0 | M2 | Luton 1 (A) | W 4-3 |
| L3 | Rickmansworth 1 (H) | W 3-0 | M3 | Blueharts 4 (A) | W 5-1 |
| L4 (Archdeaconesses) | Stevenage 2 (A) | W 3-0 | M4 | Blueharts 5 (H) | W 2-1 |
| L5 | Blueharts 5 (H) | D 1-1 | M5 | Luton 3 (A) | D 0-0 |
| L6 (Acolytes) | Thurrock 3 (W/O) | W 5-0 | M6 | Luton 4 (H) | W 4-3 |
| L7 | Blueharts 6 (A) | W 3-1 | |||
| L8 (Curates) | NO GAME | – | |||
| L9 | Saffron Walden 5 | L 5-0 |
Click on links above for the match report
BSHC L1’s 2 v Chelmsford 1’s 3 (home)
Vitality National Conference East
For the third week running Bishop Stortford Ladies found their best intentions came to nought after an exciting conclusion to their game with Chelmsford last Saturday.
Trailing by a single goal for much of the game Stortford rallied in the second half and two goals in quick succession, one from Maddie Anthony and the other from Fiona Rawlings, gave Stortford the lead. But in a pulsating last 10 minutes Chelmsford rallied and scored two goals themselves, in quick succession, to regain the lead, and despite intense Stortford pressure in the last minutes, they clung on for a precious victory.
Louisa Davies and Gabi Morgan continued their run of good form but Stortford will be wondering how with so much possession and territorial domination, reflected in winning 14 short corners, they did not get something out of this game.
Coach Nick Prowse was happy with the performance if not the result. ‘Through injury and unavailability we were missing four of our usual starting lineup So other members of our squad took the opportunity to get some valuable pitch time, and debutantes Martha Hoult and Rori Fletcher impressed in their first games for the club.’
BSHC M1’s 4 v St Albans’s 2 1 (Home)
East Division 1 South
Bishops Stortford Men’s 1s took on league rivals St Albans 2s at home. As both teams looking to assert their dominance on a league they intend to win, the stakes were high and was not a game either team were prepared to lose.
In the first half, both teams were quick out the blocks, St Albans playing the ball side to side trying to break down a tough and organized defensive press from Stortford. Within 10 mins, a counter attack from Stortford yielded a short corner which Jack Wheaton cleanly converted. Soon after, St Albans found a leak in Stortford’s defense after a minor lapse in concentration and equalized. Finally in the first half, Ali Charlton was fouled badly in the D after some silky skills, and Jack Wheaton stepped up again to convert the penalty flick.
The second half struck a similar tone to the first, a strong Stortford defence holding strong and before long, another short corner opportunity was converted by Jack Wheaton. Despite a couple of questionable cards for the Bishop’s Stortford forwards, Stortford built upon their lead once more with Oliver Plummer smashing one at the keeper, with enough power to end up in the goal.
The team then held out for a tired last ten minutes or so to gain a third win of the season and top the table. Bishops Stortford Men’s 1s 4 – 1 St Albans Mens 2
BSHC L2’s 1 v Blueharts 2’s 0 (Away)
East Division 2 South West
Stortford moved two points clear at the top of the league with a battling performance away a Blueharts.
Last season had seen Stortford record comfortable victories against the hosts but this was a much changed and well organised side who’ve conceded few goals.
Stortford dominated much of the possession in the first half, the best chance falling to Darcy Edwards who found herself one on one with the keeper. Unselfishly as she entered the ‘d’, she made a square pass to her team mate, but the Blueharts keeper read it well, diving to her right to intercept with her stick. Blueharts came close to taking the lead during a rare break into Stortford’s ‘d’. A ball played in at speed took a deflection, and keeper Lianne Warnell, inspired by her newly printed by Dutchie shirt, reacted quickly to make a ‘world class’ stick save high to her right to deny the goal. Despite Stortfords dominance, they were unable to convert their chances and went into halftime goalless
The second half saw Chucks make her move for donkey of the match. Straight from the second half pushback, with no-one else around, tripping on air but impressively styling it out whilst keeping the ball under control to make the pass, a moment we’ll never forget. Blueharts came out much stronger, testing the Stortford defence at times. It only takes a minute for a game to change and Stortfords patience paid off with a moment of brilliance from Lucy Robinson that finally broke the deadlock. Flashing a reverse stick shot low into the far corner to give Stortford the narrowest of leads. Blueharts almost equalised, minutes later a looping flick just grazing the crossbar and landing on top of the net, much to Stortford’s relief. Blueharts, frustrated by Darcy’s speed decided the best way to get her out of the game for the final few minutes was to sit on her. But Stortford held on to close out the final minutes and secure their third win in a row.
They may not have won on the pitch, but Blueharts most definitely win the best post-match teas. Awarded an impressive 9/10 by Chucks. The rest of the teams in the league have a hard act to follow.
Player of the match: Millie Andrews
Blueharts 9/10 teas 😍
BSHC M2’s 4 v Luton 1’s 3 (away)
East Division 2 South West
The Men’s 2s brought home their first win of the season, away at Luton Mens 1s in Division 2SW.
The hosts started the game with pace, looking to press the Stortford defence with intensity which created a few early jitters. The defence was quickly calmed under the cool head of Sam Bampton to adapt and turn the tide as Stortford moved the ball down the channels with intent. The Stortford forwards created space and pressure which led to the visitors opening the scoring through Bruce Rodda.
Despite having only one substitute, the man on the bench came on and made an immediate impact – Tom Nash coolly finishing after another slick Stortford passing move. Man of the match Tommy Williams put the Luton team under so much pressure, however the inconsistent pitch allowed the home team to get some counter attacks and find a goal through a penalty corner.
In the second half Harry McKerrall snuck in behind the Luton backs to take down an aerial and slot home the third. Hungry for more, Stortford kept pushing forward with Aaron Watts continuing his good form and collecting a goal. Luton pulled a goal back, followed by a penalty corner score in the last moments of the game to make the scoreline look closer than it was – Stortford taking the three points with a 4-3 win on the road
BSHC L3 3 v Rickmansworth 1’s 0 (Home)
East Div 3SW
Another excellent team performance from the L3s saw them take victory at home against Rickmansworth L1s. The first 10 minutes could have gone either way and Hannah Reynolds pulled off an incredible save to keep the home side level. This really inspired the team who started applying the pressure. Gracie Cowan calmly put away a slipped short corner to make it 1-0 going into half time. The 2nd half saw Stortford camping out in Rickmansworths half with any long clearances being calmly dealt with by the defence of Caitlin Wotton, Eryn Foote & Player of the match Lydia Thomas. Stortford kept applying the pressure but failed to convert any of their 15 short corners. Finally Issy Good eased the tension by driving into the D and letting go of an absolute rocket of a shot which went straight through the Rickmansworths keeper legs. The midfield of Katy Motson, Lizzie Motson, Suzy Fletcher, Freya Sweeney and Lydia Seleska kept turning up the heat. Their work was finally rewarded when a beautiful drive from Lydia Taylor went into the midfield through to Jemma Pettit on the baseline and was crossed for Issy Hatfield to put away the final goal of the match. Final score 3-0 to Bishops Stortford’s L3.
BSHC M3’s 3 v Blueharts 4’s 0 (away)
East Division 3 South West
The late 4.45pm push back away to Blueherts in Hitchin could easily lead to a sluggish start, but with a primarily young team it was quite the opposite.
Stortford dominated the first half but only lead 1-0 at the break through a penalty stroke confidently put away by Mike Landolt.
After the break Blueharts pressed for an equalizer but a solid defense led by Aiden McMahon & goalkeeper Ollie Foot made sure a clean sheet was kept intact.
Great performances from Henry Brooks,Toby Warnes, Oliver Leonard, Jake Anders and the Bannister brothers started to change the balance of the game.
Two goals from man of the match Miles Tanner with two assists from Sam Harrison secured the points and a well deserved 0-3 win for Bishops Stortford.
BSHC Archdeaconesses 2 v Stevenage 2’s 0 (Away)
East Division 3 South West
The Archdeaconesses travelled to Stevenage to face another tough opposition.
Getting off to a great start with some strong attacking play. The first goal, around 8 minutes, came from a short corner struck by Paula Frenzel and deflected in by Zoe Barford.
Stevenage broke a few times but the Stortford defence remained strong with Ros Brown picking up most of the high attackers. Young keeper Louisa Halkyard got to any balls that did manage to get through.
Several more shots on goal by Barford and Hannah Wynne were kept out by a very strong Stevenage keeper.
The second goal, around 63 mi. utes, was a clean strike by Frenzel from a short corner pushed in by Barford.
Other results mean that the team are now three points clear at the top of the league.
Another strong team performance from the Archedeaconesses
BSHC M5’s 0 v Luton 3’s 0 (away)
East Div 5 South West
Stortford were searching for their first points of the season this week and had an early start away in Luton. They dominated the match throughout but just couldn’t find the back of the net. An excellent defensive performance from Charlie Kittrell and James Brocks kept Luton at bay.The game ending in a goalless draw and Stortford securing their first point of the season to lift themselves off the e bottom of the table.
BSHC L7’s 3 v Blueharts 6’s 1 (Away)
East div 6 South West
This was a tough game as expected, however the Stortford side retained the upper hand throughout the game. After having the larger percentage of attacking play the 1st goal was scored by Stortford’s Vittoria Saunders, Stortford continued to attack but were denied by Blueharts goalkeeper and Blueharts equalised in the 29th minute, Stortford replied with a 2nd goal scored by Marni Cochcrane a minute later. The scoreline at halftime had Stortford leading at 2-1. The 2nd half was just as strong for Stortford with a third goal scored by Tilly-May Herbert in the 61st minute.
