1’s v Upminster
3-2 (Dutchie x 3)
Bishop’s Stortford Ladies 1s took on Upminster this weekend and once again needed to rely on their resilience and determination to emerge victorious.
Stortford won an early short corner in the first quarter, and a slick routine almost earned them the lead – with a Dutchie to Lou deflection going just high of the crossbar.
Stortford found it difficult to find their own rhythm in the game and looked to be making it hard work for themselves for the rest of the first half. It was Upminster that took an early lead and at half time it was 1-0 to the visiting side.
Stortford used half time to regroup and press the reset button. If there is one thing this team has proven it is that they have the resilience and determination to get back in the game. The 3rd quarter was where Stortford stepped up their movement off the ball and were able to exploit the gaps that opened up. A well-timed run by Lou was tapped through to Dutchie in the D who demonstrated her one-on-one skills with the keeper to bring the score level at 1-1.
Within minutes Stortford were back in the D with Libby taking a reverse stick shot that the keeper just saved giving Dutchie the opportunity to tap it in for her 2nd goal of the match.
Stortford had finally found their rhythm and were controlling the game with patient transfers from the defence all the way up the pitch.
2-1 going into the final quarter meant Upminster would be fighting back hard. Stortford kept their composure for the first 5 mins and once again Dutchie was the one on the ball when a wayward tackle from an Upminster defender earned her a flick. On course for a hattrick Dutchie insisted she be the one to take it and after a pep talk from Libby she calmly slotted the ball home to take Stortford into a 3-1 lead.
Credit to Upminster that they were determined to get back in the game and when a goal from the visiting side brought the score line to 3-2 the atmosphere intensified. Stortford found themselves under intense pressure with Lou and then Sal being awarded green cards for ‘breaking down play’. Stortford were solid in defence battling the pressure and with a full team back on the pitch Stortford held out to win an important 3 points. Player of the Match for her impressive hattrick was Dutchie.
2’s v Havering 1’s
2-3 (Claire Farley, Alice Lowe)
Bishop Stortford travelled away to Havering who have made their home pitch a real fortress with a fantastic winning streak at Home. From the first whistle Havering were putting Stortford under pressure on the ball, and despite some lovely passages of play round the back of the Stortford defence and some initial probing attacks lead by player of the match Swanny & the Stortford forwards, Havering were able to capitalise on a Stortford error and dispatched a pacey counter attack to make it 1-0 early in the first half.
Stortford then got their backs up as it felt against the run of play having had the majority of the possession and with some great distribution from Becky & Peaky and the relentless work rate of Charlotte at the back, started to piece together to find the Stortford forwards to create some some real pressure on the Havering defensive circle but the Havering defense held firm. The pace of the Havering counterattack continued to threaten Stortford causing Liv to do a circle-to-circle full pitch sprint to make a last-ditch defensive tackle which she described as “the best of her career so far but left her completely blown out”. Stortford eventually found themselves victim to another well executed Havering counterattack making the score 2-0 to the home team.
With a passionate half time talk from Coach Phil ringing in the ears of the Stortford players instilling a sense of belief and putting some fire back into the bellies of the Stortford players it seemed to have worked eventually inspiring a Stortford come back. Stortford had had opportunities to get on the score sheet, but it wasn’t until a well taken short corner finished off clinically by Peaky that Stortford found success. Now 2-1 and Stortford are starting to dominate, winning 50-50 balls, the passes were starting to connect, and Rafae began causing Havering some real problems with relentless circle entries down the left, Stortford were now starting to cook. Quickly after the first Stortford goal came another from a lovely team link up finished off by Alice much to the delight of the Stortford players & travelling support the cheers were ringing round the ground. Unfortunately, in the last minutes of play Stortford couldn’t hold on to a well-earned point conceding another goal at the hands of the fast-paced Havering counterattack resulting in the game finishing 3-2 to Havering.
3’s v Bedford 3’s
0-3
Stortford made the trip to Bedford on Saturday. We had a great warm up and started the game strong, we had a couple of early chances but unfortunately couldn’t convert. Bedford were quick on the break but just couldn’t link up, we managed to read their passes and intercept to allow us to attack once more. The game was very much end to end with both teams having their chances. The game was still 0-0 at half time. We knew we would have to dig deep as Bedford would come out strong again, after another 10mins Bedford managed to find the back of the net. Our heads went down and they scored another in quick succession. We raised our heads again and got back into the game but still couldn’t convert even though we had chances. The game finished 3-0 our work rate was fantastic, and we make Bedford work for it.
4’s v Berkhamsted & Hemel 2’s
3-1 (Lois Wright, Scout Neville x2)
The Ladies 4s went into their match against Berkhamsted with a strong squad and confidence high, looking to take home another win this week. From the first whistle, the team set the tone, starting brightly, holding their shape well and making great use of the back pass to control play and build from the defence. The pressure paid off early when Lois Wright found the back of the net within the opening 14 minutes, giving us a deserved lead.
We continued to press hard, creating numerous chances inside Berkhamsted’s D and winning a string of short corners. One of these was expertly converted by Scout Neville in the 21st minute, doubling our advantage. Berkhamsted responded just before the break with a goal of their own, leaving the score at 2–1 going into half time.
The second half began with the same intensity, the team determined to protect the lead and push further ahead. Strong communication and disciplined positioning kept us in control, and the effort was rewarded when Scout struck again in the 68th minute to make it 3–1. Berkhamsted applied pressure in the closing minutes and created several chances, but our defence stood firm and held strong until the final whistle. A solid all-round performance saw the game finish 3–1 and another well-earned win on the board.
POTM awarded to Harriet Turner for her excellent control and dominance in the middle of the pitch.
5’s v Shefford & Sandy 1’s
1-2 (Karen Leach)
Stortford were off to a good start, attacking well with entries into Sandys D.
Stortford worked hard in defence with many a short corner awarded to Sandy. Defending tirelessly a goal was scored at 13 minutes from a Sandy short corner. The score was left at 1-0 to Sandy at half time.
Stortford went into the second half with 10 players, holding their own and keeping strong.
Following one of the many further short corners of the game a Flick was awarded to Sandy bring their score to 2 – 0, 3 minutes into the second half. This was the last of their goals.
Stortford worked hard with great teamwork to work around Sandy and up to the forwards. This paid off at 50 minutes when Karen LEACH scored a straight strike from a short corner awarded to us.
Unfortunately, Stortford weren’t able to score an equaliser, but were very pleased with the result against top of the table.
Player of the match was awarded jointly across the defensive line to Kaitlin RANGE, Anoushka SHAW and Sarah BUCKNELL (GK). consistent defending and great goal saving throughout the game.
6’s v Crostyx 2
1-7 (Mia Beverley)
The ladies 6s turned out for a late home game against the second placed Crostyx 2s. Some pre-match investigation had revealed a propensity for the opposition to score from penalty corners, as well as the fact that the team had a couple of prolific goal scorers. With the aim of stemming the tide of goals the decision had been made to play 4 at the back and 2 up front.
Armed with this knowledge the team went out looking to identify and close those players down as well as to keep the opposition from gaining penalty corner decisions. Best laid plans and all that – Crostyx won a corner decision inside the first 2 minutes!! The determined defense line up came out fighting then and with a further two short corners in the first quarter of the game.
A brilliant midfield breakthrough at 23 minutes got the ball up to Mia who took on the keeper and brought the home team 1-0 up for the first time since the winter break. Crostyx definitely didn’t like being behind and kept a constant pressure on the defence with the occasional defenders Nyla and Marie giving great support to the line up of Ange, Emma and Naomi. Elsie made save after save – slides, stick, body – throwing her full arsenal to keep Stortford in the game. After two more thwarted corners Crostyx scored twice in 2 minutes whilst Stortford failed to convert a corner in the last minutes of the half. Half-time came with Crostyx being 2-1 up.
Stortford came out with hopes of getting a goal back and securing a point as a minimum however Crostyx had changed their formation and throughout the second half it felt like an overload, another 2 away goals in the first 5 minutes started to take the game away from the 6s. Elsie continued her workout saving further Crostyx attempts, at one point executing a double dive likened to “Spiderwoman” by sweeper Ange!
Seemingly liking their goals in twos Crostyx then scored twice more at 14 and 17 minutes and whilst soon after another break got Mia into a tussle with the Crostyx keeper a further home goal proved elusive. Adding to their short corner record Crostyx closed out the game with two further penalty corners converting one to end the game 7-1 up.
Post match conversations with the opposition coach and players revealed that Crostyx couldn’t believe we were a 6s team, and that the was one of their hardest matches this season with the challenge meaning they had to change their formation and tactics in the second half – they were used to running with the ball and Stortford had prevented that. Post match analysis shows the identified players had only managed to score one of the seven goals but the strength in depth meant others stepped in to the space. Crostyx are a team looking to top the table and the developing players in the 6s can hold their heads high after another tough “day at the pitch”.
7’s v Bedford 6’s
3-0 (Hollie Haslam, Jess Ashford-Green x2)
Still smarting from their against the run of play loss in the away leg of the season’s games against Bedford, the 7’s started the game strong and with determination.
An early won short corner with Hollie converting opened the scoring seeing the 7’s take the lead within 3 minutes. Stortford continued to dominate the play with a constant pressure on the Bedford defence leading to a goal for Jess shortly afterwards. The Bedford keeper made some excellent saves and kept the scoreline down until just before half time when Jess bagged her brace.
The 7’s went into half time 3-0 up but very aware that the Bedford side were strong on the break.
The second half saw the match even out a little with the midfield team working hard to intercept and distribute the ball, and some lovely runs down the wing from Kierat and Chloe.
Lis made some key saves and the defence worked hard, but unfortunately the multiple goal attempts were thwarted, despite some brilliant play.
PoM this week for Emily who played fabulously in both defence and mid, with nominations again for lots of others, showing the strength of the team, great game all!
8’s v Berkhamsted & Hemel Hempstead 4’s
3-2 (Cecily Morgan x2, Jenna Flanagan,
BSHC Ladies 8s travelled away to Berkhamsted for a 2pm pushback in difficult conditions, with heavy rain making for a slick and fast-paced pitch throughout much of the game.
The opening half was tightly contested, with both sides battling hard through midfield and defending well at the back. Despite several promising attacking moves from Stortford, neither team were able to score and the score remained 0–0 at half time.
Ladies 8s came out strongly after the break and were rewarded in the 44th minute with Cecily M opening the scoring with a well-taken field goal. Momentum continued to build and Berkhamsted responded quickly, equalising in the 50th minute.
Not to be deterred, Stortford immediately turned play and went into the lead again with Jenna F bringing the score to 2-1.
The hosts then drew level from a penalty corner conversion. The game remained end-to-end, with both teams pushing for the win. As the rain finally eased and the sun broke through in the final ten minutes, Stortford found the decisive moment. Cecily M struck again in the 67th minute, securing her second goal of the match and restoring Stortford’s lead.
The final minutes were played at high intensity, but some fantastic saves from Bishop’s Stortford GK, Sienna-Rose V saw Stortford take the 3–2 away victory.
It was a strong team performance, made even more encouraging by the introduction of several new faces to the squad, who settled well and contributed positively in very wet conditions.
9’s v Broxbourne 5’s
2-0 (Kimberley Guthrie, Lily Dodd)
The 9s returned to Hockerill to play Broxbourne this weekend, with a few changes to the team and sporting some help from our 10s, the stage was set.
The whistle blew and Stortford quickly scored a goal by Kimberley Guthrie. The opportunity came from a penalty corner after just 1 minute and 17 seconds. An absolutely excellent start!
The game continued with a strong performance from the whole team with lots of passing and use of the whole width of the pitch.
An excellent combination of Rosa Fradley, Izzy Green and Simret Gill on the LHS kept the ball in the opposition’s D.
Mandy Camerota had another excellent performance in defence, continually harried the opposition to keep the ball out of the Stortford goal.
The team linked up brilliantly with the backs and the mids constantly deploying a passing game and feeding balls in to create attacking opportunities.This combined with the communication between players and marking kept Broxbourne out of the game and Stortford in.
The second goal came shortly into the second half, Lily Dodd driving the ball home with a flick and a slap.
A special thanks to Anna Inman who supported us from our 10s this week and an extra special thanks to our player of the match, Mabel Bowie (who also came up to support from the 10’s) and had an excellent game
