1s v Dereham 1’s
6-1 (Libby Knifton x 2, Sally Powell x2,Molly Brooks, Daisy Fox)
BSHC were determined to start quickly in the match and achieved immediate pressure on the Dereham defence. The goal was peppered with shots and had 25 D entries. Libby opened the scoring on 6 minutes, pouncing on a rebound after Daisy’s original shot. 1 quickly became 2 for Libby, who calmly received the ball on the penalty spot and reverse hit to the bottom right.
Dereham managed to break and hit the post, giving Stortford a warning. Against the run of play Dereham again hit post and in the ensuing melee somehow scrambled the ball over the line.
Stortford knew the game was theirs and immediately sought to convert more chances.
Molly restored Stortford’s advantage through a short corner deflection at the left post.
Daisy then took the game away from Dereham after a superb run through the defence to calmly round the keeper to slot the ball into an empty net, making the score at half time 4-1.
The second half was all Stortford who were composed and patient.
Such was stortford’s dominance that despite a questionable yellow (birthday) card for captain lockey, even down to 10 Stortford were able to score. The excellent Sophie intercepted a loose Dereham transfer to unselfishly pass having beaten two defenders. Sally had the easy tap in.
Stortford rounded off the game with a 6th, following a defence splitting pass from lockey to Sally who made no mistake from close range.
An excellent team performance, and well-deserved statement victory
2s v Colchester 1
2-1 (Anna Sydes, Suzanne Holmes)
The Ladies 2s started brightly against Colchester, creating a number of chances, before Anna Sydes calmly dribbled around a couple of Colchester players before sweeping the ball on her reverse into the back of the goal.
The 2s continued to create chances, with Colchester unable to cope with the pace and skill of player of the match, Amelia Leach, and the weaving runs of Nicky Bareham. However, BS were unable to convert their chances and went into half time with just the one goal.
Colchester fought back in the second half, earning themselves a goal to level the scores 1-1. After failing to convert a number of short corners, Bareham ran along the baseline before passing to Suzanne Holmes who cooly struck the ball between the post and the goalkeeper. Final score, 2-1 to BS and a well-earned 3 points
3s v Hertford 1’s
0-2
Ladies 3 took on Hertford this week in a tough game with the bare 11. We started the game really well and had several opportunities to take the lead but just couldn’t convert. The game continued, and Hertford found the net just before half time. Stortford continued to battle hard, but tired legs started to show. We had a couple more chances, but Hertford found the net again to finish the game 2-0.
4s v Broxbourne 3’s
0-1
The Ladies 4s put in a determined performance this weekend against a strong Broxbourne 3s side. Although the final score ended 1–0 in Broxbourne’s favour, the team can hold their heads high after battling hard from start to finish.
Broxbourne found the back of the net early in the match, taking advantage of a quick break to edge ahead. But from that moment on, the Ladies 4s dug deep, showing real composure and fight to stay in the game. The defence stood strong under pressure and keeper Lianne pulled off a series of brilliant saves to keep the scoreline close and give the team every chance to come back.
As the match went on, the 4s began to find their rhythm, linking up well and creating some great attacking opportunities. Despite all the hard work and several promising chances in the D, we just couldn’t quite convert our efforts into goals.
The final whistle came with Broxbourne holding their narrow lead, but the effort, teamwork, and determination shown by the Ladies 4s were second to none. It was a performance full of energy, resilience, and promise for the games ahead.
Player of the Match: Lianne – for an exceptional display in goal, keeping us in the game with save after save.
5s v Letchworth 2’s
0-7
Bishops Stortford worked hard from the start with some great passing across the pitch to work round Letchworth.
Letchworth put pressure on Stortford with Stortford’s defence working tirelessly throughout the game. Keeping strong, the ball was cleared many times by Nadia EL-ZANFALY, and Stortford worked back up the pitch, unfortunately to no avail. At the end of the first half Stortford had conceded 3 goals
The second half was a game of many short corners for Bishops Stortford , Stortford worked hard to keep the score line down.
Letchworth made some good breaks down the pitch to score a further 4 goals in the second half. Stortford were determined throughout the game, with possession of the ball, passes through the mids allowed Stortford to gain momentum up to the forwards and into Letchworth’s defensive line. No goals were scored by Stortford, but the determination didn’t drop, and the team gave them all.
Player of the match went to EL-ZANFALY, holding strong at the back and distributing the ball through the middle of the pitch.
6s v Malden 2’s
0-2
PoM Annie Johnson
The 6s started well against bottom of the table Maldon, winning a short corner at 11 minutes. A break by Maldon brought them int the home D where the interception wasn’t cleanly executed and at 18 minutes Maldon went one ahead.
The hard work continued with the midfield of Savannah, Zara, Nyla, Lottie and PoM Annie worked hard to close down players. Sophie Cowell, in defense, thwarted the Maldon’s right-side attacks and Ange Durnin put in a shift, throughout the match, with 16s that cleared the halfway line time and again (even finding the goal at one point). A second short corner at 32 minutes didn’t deliver, and half time came round on 0-1.
Starting hard, Stortford won a short corner decision at 2 minutes into the second half but still couldn’t convert. Maldon brought the fight back and despite keeper, Elsie’s best efforts, found the Stortford net 15 minutes in. Stortford continued to work hard to reverse the deficit with two further corners in the last five minutes whilst Maldon were keen to secure their lead winning their only corner just before the final whistle.
The ladies 6s are playing good hockey and building on the consistency of a regular set of players however Maldon 2s looked like a team who have been together across more than one season with good communication and clean passing which on this occasion gave them the lead.
7s v Hertford 4’s
3-1 (Holly Haslam x 2, Charlie Woodrow)
Another fantastic result for the ladies 7’s against Harpenden 3’s.
The 7’s started quietly and slowly, taking the first part of the first half to settle into the game. Harpenden capitalised, going 1 up 10 minutes in.
Once the 7’s kicked into action, the team played some excellent hockey. Holly Haslam found the back of the net twice in quick succession shortly after, with some excellent work in midfield keeping the ball firmly in the attacking D.
The game continued in the second half with the 7’s applying pressure with multiple shots on goal saved by the Harpenden keeper.
POM Chloe, and the midfield team intercepted well and played a well-worked passing game to distribute the ball forward.
The defensive line cleared the ball well after a couple of Harpenden breaks, and Charlie Woodrow slotted in a neat goal on back post, leaving the final score 3-1.
8s v Royston 2
3-1
Stortford got off to a flying start, opening the scoring within the first seven minutes thanks to a well-taken field goal from Eileen Adams. Just nine minutes later, Amelia Berni doubled the lead with a strong goal from the top of the D, after some great assisted play from Izzy Cullinan. Royston responded with several attacking runs, but Stella T held the defence strong with some key interceptions, and GK Olivia Higgins making a string of fantastic saves to keep the visiting team goalless. Ten minutes before half-time, Eileen Adams struck again with her second goal of the match, assisted by Natasha Atkinson sending Stortford into halftime with a commanding 3–0 lead.
Royston came out energised in the second half, putting Stortford under pressure and forcing the team onto the defensive. A brief loss of formation allowed Royston to break through, earning themselves a penalty corner, and a subsequent goal. Stortford were able to regroup and pushed back hard, creating several chances and even finding the net for a fourth time from Catherine Smith — only for the goal to be disallowed.
The final whistle blew with the score 3–1, a well-deserved win.
POM jointly awarded to Stella Thompson and Izzy Cullinan
9s v Stevenage 5’s
4-0 (Jenna Flanagan, Lily Dodds, Jane Deans)
After a regroup and reshuffle from last week, Stortford dominated the game with strong performances from all the team.
We held the majority of the possession in the first half with continuous attacks and a robust defence.
The defence held strong rebuking any counter attacks with Nikki Bannister making some crucial saves to keep the clean sheet.
The efforts of the team paid off with a goal from Jenna Flanagan, a great strike off the back of a short corner.
We had a number of other opportunities following breaks from Izzy Green (trying out her new position in left mid) and linking up with Jenna to see if we could increase the lead by more.
Going into the second half, Stortford were hungry to keep the lead and build on it.
We saw some great passing from all the team with excellent balls coming from Rosa Fradley and Addie Perry-Jones in central midfield. The cohesion paid dividends, following an excellent break from Kim Guthrie on the right wing, passing to Lily Dodds who found the back of the goal between the keepers legs, taking us up to 2-0.
More linking between players provided Stortford (and Lily) with another goal, built up from midfield and switching between forwards to eventually be beautifully struck by Lily.
We continued to find our rhythm and after another greatly timed pass from Kim to Jane Deans, Jane outpaced the opposing defenders and dummied the GK, finding the bottom corner with a tremendous strike to see us finish the game 4-0.
Player of the match this week went to a well deserved Lily Dodds with notable mentions to Kim and Addie who also got a number of votes from the team.
10’s (development side) v Welwyn 4’s (development side)
2-1
Bishops Stortford Ladies 10s Development team celebrated a well-earned 2–1 win against Welwyn Ladies Dev 4 on Saturday.
Welwyn took the lead in the 21st minute, putting Bishops Stortford under early pressure. However, the home side showed determination and teamwork, fighting back strongly after the break. Jenna Flanagan equalised in the 48th minute, and Cleo Brown sealed the victory with a well-taken goal in the 65th minute
The team displayed solid passing and great energy throughout the match, with the goalkeeper making several crucial saves to deny Welwyn further chances. It was a strong all-round performance and a well-deserved win for Bishops Stortford.
