1s v Cambridge University 2’s
5-2 ( Lou Davies, Beth Moore, Fiona Mulder, Molly Brooks, Amelia Leach)
You know it’s going to be a good day when Donkey of the Day votes are flying around before pushback, and Player of the Match votes are already being given to those who don’t even take the pitch — the people behind the scenes who make it possible for our Ladies to get out and play. This one’s for you. 💙
After a bit of pre-game assistance, Stortford were fired up and ready to go, showing intent from the warm-up and carrying that energy straight into the game. It didn’t take long to prove to Panners that passing with patience doesn’t mean slow starts.
Putting Tuesday’s training into practice, Daisy won an early short corner by finding a foot in the D — the first of many. A well-rehearsed routine followed, with Dutchie laying the ball across for Lou, who produced a beautiful near-post deflection to open the scoring within minutes.
A brief 30-second lapse in concentration allowed the opposition to equalise, but Stortford responded with grit and determination. Calm on the ball, the team moved it patiently through the lines, slicing through the Cambridge Uni defence. Just before the end of the first quarter, Daisy slipped a perfectly weighted pass through midfield to Dutchie, who drew the goalkeeper before unselfishly squaring it to Beth on the post for a composed finish.
Unfortunately, the end of the first quarter also saw Libby (Donkey of the Day 🫏) hobble off with a pulled muscle, leaving the team down to just one sub. Despite this, Stortford stayed composed as the second quarter began.
The third goal came courtesy of an outstanding long ball from Eryn down the line to Dutchie, who found herself one-on-one with the keeper — arguably her favourite scenario. The keeper stood no chance as Stortford took a 3–1 lead. Cambridge Uni continued to apply pressure and were rewarded with a well-executed short corner to pull one back.
The third quarter was a true team effort, with everyone putting in the hard yards both defensively and in attack. Another short corner won by Daisy led to a goal from a slightly tweaked routine (recommended by Titch!). Dutchie slapped the ball towards the near post, finding injector Molly, who finished calmly with a neat flick.
In the final quarter, after a sustained period of defending, a long ball down the line from Dutchie found Sophie, who played a beautiful pass into the D for Amelia. Amelia showed great composure to take it past the keeper and slot home her first goal for the 1s.
A fantastic team performance all round — excellent communication from the back, and calm, assured leadership from Molly and Katie ensured the team stayed composed under pressure.
Player of the Match was shared between Molly and Amelia
2’s v Broxbourne 2’s
2-7 (Liz Egan-Evans x2)
Bishop’s Stortford battled hard but were outpaced in a 7–2 defeat to a fast Broxbourne side.
From the first whistle, Broxbourne’s pace caused problems, and a few sloppy passes and poor marking allowed them to take control. Stortford showed fight, though, and Liz Egan converted a short corner to get them on the scoresheet. Stortford were unlucky not to pull another back at the end of the first half when a flick was controversially ruled out, leaving the team trailing 3–1 at the break.
The second half was more of the same, with Broxbourne exploiting space and scoring from tight angles. Stortford continued to press but struggled to string passes together, though Liz Egan struck again from a short corner to make it 7–2.
While the result was tough, there are lessons to take forward—reducing errors and improving passing will be key for the next match.
3’s v Stevenage 1’s
2-0 (Jemima Tasker, Zoe Barford)
Ladies 3 played Stevenage in a game that could have gone either way. It is always close when we play each other. Stortford started well and moved the ball around with speed and precision. Stevenage closed us down very quickly and were quick to break, but some great saves by Freya Rich kept us in the game. The game continued with end to end play, both teams had their chances. It was nearing the end and still 0-0. Stortford piled on the pressure and nicked the ball in their half. A very calm run by Tasker drew the keeper and slotted the ball in the goal to take the score to 1-0. With only a few minutes left we settled but Stevenage were a little shaky and we took advantage. Another poor ball allowed us to take control again and a lovely chip over the kept by Barford took the final score to 2-0.
4’s v Stevenage 2’s
1-1 (Jo Newman)
The Ladies 4s returned to action for their first game back after Christmas, after last week’s fixture being cancelled due to icy weather. We faced a strong Stevenage side, eager to get back into match play.
Stevenage started quickly and caught us off guard, scoring within the first five minutes. However, this early setback seemed to wake us up and from then on we dominated possession and controlled much of the game. We created several chances and spent long periods in their half, but despite the pressure we were unable to find the back of the net before half time.
The second half continued in much the same fashion, with the Ladies 4s pushing hard and showing great teamwork and determination. Our efforts were finally rewarded when Jo Newman managed to calmly slot the ball home, following a move started from defence, bringing us level and giving us the equaliser we thoroughly deserved.
Stevenage were later awarded a penalty flick, which could have changed the game, but Goalkeeper Lianne produced an absolutely amazing save to keep us in it and preserve the draw. Her composure under pressure proved crucial.
The match finished 1–1, a result that didn’t quite reflect our dominance throughout the game, but a solid performance and a positive way to start the new year.
Player of the Match went to Sophia, who was outstanding in the centre of the pitch. She held the middle brilliantly, and provided countless outlets for the team. Very well deserved !
5’s v Broxbourne 3’s
1-2 (Karen Leach)
Bishop Stortford 5s came out strong once again for their second game against Broxbourne 3s for the season. Stortford played strong from the first whistle with possession of the ball and attacks on goal, with narrow misses on post from Vicky RANDAZZO and Karen LEACH.
When Broxbourne gained possession Stortford worked hard down the pitch with interceptions from the midfielders and clearances from the defence, keeping the score line clear at half time.
Heading into the second half Stortford were determined for the win and to get a goal. This determination played off with our first goal at 42 minutes first cleared by Broxbourne , intercepted by Tory FOOT who got the ball back into the D and Karen LEACH securing the first goal of the match aimed to maintain their lead. Broxbourne were back with attacking play securing their first goal at 45 minutes and shortly after at 53 minutes.
Stortford worked hard to even up the score line, unfortunately to no avail with the final whistle blowing leaving the score line at 1-2 for Stortford.
Player of the match was a tie between Anoushka SHAW in defence, Laura BATCHELOR in midfield and Karen LEACH in forward, showing the team effort and hard work that was put in across the pitch.
6’s v Basildon 1’s
1-7 (Mia Beverley)
Early pressure falters as 6s suffer a 6 goal loss
First game out after the winter break saw the 6s facing top of the table Basildon 1s who haven’t lost a game all season.
Basildon had the pushback however Stortford managed a turnover getting into the attacking 23 inside 2 minutes from the start. Basildon however were having none of it and scored two quick goals in minute 3 and 4, the first from a short corner. Two further short corners followed then Christie Ansell made a break carrying the ball to the Basildon end finding Mia Beverley for a goal for Stortford. Continuing the fight Stortford won but didn’t convert a corner half way through the first half. The remaining 15 minutes of the first half were Basildon’s – 5 short corners saw 3 converted, mainly on the rebound as the 4 forwards hunted as a pack in the Stortford D.
5-1 at half time Stortford came out looking to play our style of hockey and stem the level of loss. A swift break saw a 6th Basildon goal quickly after the restart. This galvanized the hone team who proceeded to take the fight forward with 6 short corner decisions in 14 minutes, converting however remained elusive despite getting to the goal line a few times. The largely U18 team kept their heads and composure against a well drilled and mature first team opposition. In a mirror of the first half the final quarter played out in 4 further Basildon short corners, the last of which was converted minutes inside the final whistle leaving Stortford 6 goals down in a 7-1 scoreline.
7’s v Stevenage 4’s
5-1 (Emma Cox x2, Holly Haslam x2, Lianne Warnell)
Buoyed with confidence from their last win against Stevenage the 7’s went out strong. A very early short corner was converted by a straight strike from Emma deflecting into the goal off a defenders stick. A second goal followed shortly after when Holly found the back of the net round the Stevenage keeper.
Realising they had been caught out Stevenage rallied and the latter part of the first half saw the ball going from end to end, with keeper Lis and the Stortford defence keeping out a number of short corners.
The second half saw Stortford find their stride again, with some great interceptions in midfield and distribution out to the wings. Another flurry of goals for Lianne, Holly and Emma took Stortford to 5-0 up. PoM Marie and Katie A had decisive stints in defence, with the whole team playing some lovely hockey to maintain constant pressure. Stevenage bagged a late consolation goal with the game ending 5-1, seeing the 7’s 6 points clear at the top of the table.
PoM votes again reflected the contribution of many players with nominations also for Poppy, Katie A, Char, Imi and Megan.
Well played all, what a brilliant team 🥳
8’s v Stevenage 5’s
5-0 (Yvonne Monk x2, Catherine Smith, Victoria Thompson, Amelia Berni)
Bishops Stortford Ladies 8s delivered a dominant and composed performance away at Stevenage, securing a 5–0 victory.
Stortford set the tone early, taking control of possession and dictating the pace of the game. The breakthrough came in the 14th minute when Amelia B opened the scoring, with a backed up touch on the ball from Eileen.
Stevenage worked hard to respond, but Stortford’s defence remained organised and calm, limiting chances and quickly turning defence into attack. Yvonne Monk doubled the lead in the 44th minute with a confident finish.
Stortford continued to dictate play with Catherine Smith extending the lead in the 46th minute, capitalising on quick attacking play. Momentum stayed firmly with Stortford, and in the 49th minute Victoria Thompson added a fourth goal, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Stortford continued to press and create chances, showing great teamwork and cohesion across the pitch. The scoring was completed in the 71st minute when Yvonne Monk claimed her second goal of the match, finishing off another positive attacking moves to seal a convincing 5–0 win.
This was a complete team performance with excellent contributions across all positions and a clean sheet to cap off an impressive away result. POM went to Yvonne Monk.
9’s v Welwyn 3’s
0-4
After a week of cancellations last week, it was easy to see that the 9s were frosty going into our first game of 2026.
The chaos began when, in the first five minutes of the game, Etta Inman, joining the 9s from the 10s, took a ball to the face and had to retire early from the game.
Shortly after, the atmosphere turned tense as there was a highly disputed disallowed goal for the opposition.
No less than 5 minutes later, Welwyn found themselves 1-0 up with a goal from a short corner.
Despite a number of excellent saves from Nikki Bannister in goal and Mandy Camerota holding firm in defence, the determined attackers from the opposition found their way through.
With another goal shortly before half time, Stortford ended the half 2-0 down but all to play for.
Stortford battled on throughout the second half, seeing good attacks from Kim Davis, Lily Dodd and Jenna Flanagan but unfortunately we could not find our way through the strong defence of Welwyn and ended the game 4-0 down.
Our player of the match this week went to Mabel Bowie, who had her debut match for the 9s this week, had a great game and slotted in to the team really well. Thank you Mabel!
