Crostyx 4 Letchworth 5

Crostyx had no time to sit back and feel sorry for themselves after Saturday's fixture, as Sunday saw them take the familiar trip to Letchworth. Letchworth had to win – anything less than 3 points would almost certainly see them relegated – so Crostyx knew they would be facing tough opponents.

It was clear this was going to be a fast-paced and highly charged game from the outset, despite both teams having played the day before. Emotions were running high and Letchworth had some strong and vocal home support, so it was a real boost to Crostyx when they opened the scoring early on. Sarah Belsham linked up well at the front with Player of the Match Ceri Milner.  A sneaky little through ball from Ceri at the top of the D to Sarah as she ran onto the penalty spot flummoxed the Letchworth defence, and Sarah B was able to push the ball past the keeper.

Crostyx continued in good form and went from strength to strength. It wasn’t long before they were awarded the first of a number of short corners and in a repeat of the previous day’s goal, Donna Blockley swept the ball in from the left hand side.

0-2 going in to the break and Crostyx were looking strong, albeit a little tired. Soon after the restart, Keeley Pratt led by example and her superb run down the left and into the D gave her enough space to fire an astonishing shot into the top right hand corner. 0-3 and the home support had suddenly gone very quiet.

But Letchworth showed unbelievable character and, with the threat of relegation looming over their heads, they staged an amazing comeback. They soon clawed a goal back, despite some excellent saves from Becks Clarke, as they exploited the fatigue that was setting in for Crostyx. 1-3 soon became 2-3 as they snuck in another goal and for the first time in the match, Crostyx were beginning to feel uncomfortable.

But they soon stretched their lead again, Sarah B scoring her 2nd of the game with a straight strike from a short corner. By now, both teams were giving everything they had and the work rate was unprecedented but Letchworth’s desire to win was simply greater than Crostyx’s. They scored 3 goals in quick succession during the last 15 minutes of the game to secure a 5-4 win and, more importantly, the hope that they will avoid the dreaded drop.

So Crostyx must go into the last 2 games of the season knowing that they are playing only to hold their 3rd spot in the table, but will first be concentrating on nursing some very tired limbs and recovering from two very hard fought and physically tough matches.