Redbridge 1 Crostyx 5

Man of the match: Ciara
Scorers: Ciara (3), Carrie (1) and El (1)

After the recent run of excellent results, the Ladies 2s set off to local rivals Redbridge in hope of another strong performance. A thorough warm up was necessary due to the biting cold conditions and after some inspiring words from Captain Madeleine McLeod, the team were eager to get started.

The match began with Redbridge in possession at pushback and some excellent hassling from the Crostyx midfield instantly stole possession. This led to a storming drive straight into the Redbridge D. Neat skills from Ciara Newell coupled with good link up play with Carrie Curtis then won Crostyx their first corner of the match. The Ladies 2s recent penalty corner practice again proved invaluable as a slick one-two was played between Eleanor Hopkins and Kat Hawes with the return pass allowing Eleanor Hopkins time and space to pick her spot in the bottom corner. This was exactly the start Crostyx were hoping for as they gained the lead within the first couple of minutes of the match.

Crostyx continued to maintain possession from the restart and began to pass the ball around with confidence. In particular, quality distribution from Gill Woods, Kat Hawes and Edith Galliers in the midfield kept play in the Redbridge half. Then, Ciara Newell spotted an opportunity to drive the ball from left to right across the Redbridge D, dragging defenders out of position. This created space and allowed her to hammer home a thunderous strike from the edge of the D.

With Crostyx now 2-0 up in the first 10 minutes of the match, it was hoped that this great start would continue for the remainder of the match. However, Redbridge had other ideas and took the game to Crostyx. The home team battled their way into the Crostyx D and were rewarded with a penalty corner. Great defensive work from Carla Preston and Eileen Duncan forced the ball wide but the away defence were unlucky to concede when a deflection took the ball beyond the reach of keeper Debbie Fisher.

After conceding, the Ladies 2s were then spurred on to pick up the momentum. This was led from the back with great communication and strong running from Eileen Dunce, Juliet Drake and Carla Preston. This provided a platform for Crostyx to drive forward and the relentless pressure was again rewarded when Ciara Newell scored her second of the match after a clever passage of play with Carrie Curtis and Carolyn Wild. This allowed the Ladies 2s to take a comfortable lead of 3-1 into the half time break.

The second half restarted in the same manor of the first with Crostyx playing positive hockey and driving into the Redbridge D. Gill Woods then cleverly set up Ciara Newell in space which allowed her to run at the home team defence and finish with a strong strike to allow her to complete her hat-trick. The Ladies 2s then controlled the pace of play for the remainder of the match whilst trying to find another way through the Redbridge fighting defence. A good performance from the Redbridge sweeper minimised the clear chances created by the Ladies 2s in the second half. However, Carrie Curtis then cleverly finished a trade mark goal by sneaking in to deftly deflect home her first and the Ladies 2’s fifth goal of the match.

Crostyx were deserving of their 5-1 victory as strong tackling and hard running from Redbridge ensured Crostyx had to work hard for the three points. The Ladies 2s will now enjoy a well earned break this weekend and hope to carry their momentum onwards to their next match on the 27th February.

Team: Debs, El, Eileen, Carla, Sarah T, Sarah L, Juliet, Mads, Gill, Kat, Edith, Carrie, Ciara and Carolyn.