Crostyx 7 Brentwood 1

Man of the match: Kat
Scorers: Ciara (4), Carrie (1), El (1) and Kat (1)

It has been a very pleasing start to the 2nd half of the season for the ladies 2s with 2 wins over Colchester (4-1) and Southend (3-0) and a draw last week to Thurrock (1-1). This has pushed the team to 2nd position in the league and the Ladies 2s are now real contenders for promotion.

On arrival, conditions were perfect at Chigwell and the Ladies 2s were highly motivated to go out and give their best. This was aided by a prompt meet which meant that time was spent wisely practicing set pieces.

The match started with Crostyx taking the game straight to the visitors. From the pushback, some neat link up play between the forwards allowed Ciara Newell to find space in the D but her shot was pulled agonisingly wide. This was to set the tone of the match as more pressure from the forwards kept the ball in the Brentwood twenty five and the Ladies 2s were then rewarded with their first short corner of the match. Unfortunately, whilst the now slick routine created an opportunity, the shot from Eleanor Hopkins deflected straight into a Brentwood defenders arm (we wish her a speedy recovery) and the opportunity had passed.

This early period of pressure from Crostyx continued with strong running from the midfield and all round excellent link up play. Carla Preston snuffed out all of Brentwood’s right sided attacks with great block tackling. The home team were really striving to execute all that was asked of them in the pre-match team talk and it was proving very effective. Whilst Crostyx were enjoying most of the possession, a series of strong tackles from the Brentwood sweeper and some athletic saves from the away keeper kept the game at 0-0, much to the frustration of the home team.

After yet another strong attack from Ciara Newell, Gill Woods and Carrie Curtis, Crostyx were rewarded with another short corner. Another well worked routine resulted in a clinical strike from Ciara Newell from left slip to give Crostyx a well deserved lead.

The match restarted with Brentwood determined to now take the game to Crostyx and from the pushback the away team made their way into the Crostyx D. Whilst the away team were given a dubious penalty corner, Brentwood made no mistake as they took the opportunity to level the score at 1-1 with a deadly strike.

Spurred on by great positive talking, the Ladies 2s very quickly regrouped and responded almost instantly with a skilful drive from Carla Preston and Edith Galliers which resulted in Ciara Newell slamming home her second of the match. This was then followed with a fantastic run from Kat Hawes who collected the ball in the Crostyx half and beat all oncoming Brentwood defenders to make it into the D and then score with a thunderous strike. This gave Crostyx a well deserved half time lead of 3-1.

The second half began in the way the first had ended with continuous driving play from Kat Hawes and great support going forward from the back, notably Anna Feldman and Eileen Bruce. This created several opportunities for Crostyx to extend their lead. Then, an opportunity was taken after yet another bursting trademark run by Ciara Newell, which was clinically finished off for her third of the match.

Towards the middle of the second half, the Ladies 2s were brimming with confidence and were passing the ball around well and making the Brentwood defence work hard. Great hassling from Carolyn Wild helped to keep the ball in the oppositions half and this helped to create an opening to allow Ciara Newell to score her fourth and final goal of the match. However, the Ladies 2s top goal scorer could have added to her tally a further two times after driving into the D and beating the Brentwood goalie twice, only to misplace her shots.

It was then the turn of the defence to show their attacking skills and a strong run through the Brentwood midfield found Anna Feldman in the D facing an open goal, only for her shot to fly narrowly wide. Throughout the strong periods of attacking play enjoyed by the home team, the Crostyx defence remained disciplined and minimised any threats posed by the away team in the second half. 

The 6th goal for Crostyx came after Ciara Newell, Edith Galliers and Carrie Curtis linked up neatly to pass it around the Brentwood defence. This presented Carrie Curtis with an open goal and the clinical forward finished neatly.

The result was then finally rounded off by the conversation of yet another Crostyx penalty corner. The ball was injected quickly by Carla Preston and then well stopped by Carolyn Wild to allow Eleanor Hopkins to strike home.

It was a very pleasing result for the home side especially due to the improved level of hockey played and the strong team effort. This Saturday, Crostyx will make the short journey to local rivals Redbridge for a 12pm start. This fixture will also see the welcome return of Captain Madeleine McLeod and the Ladies 2s will be going all out for another 3 points to consolidate their league position.

Team: Debs, El (C), Juliet, Carla, Anna, Eileen, Sarah, Kat, Gill, Edith, Ciara, Carrie, Carolyn and chief supporter/coach – Barr
Umpires: Kaye and Phil.