Southend 5 - 7 Broxbourne
"Division 2 debut"
The season started on Saturday with a home tie against fellow Division 2 newcomers Broxbourne with neither team really knowing what to expect from life in the higher division.
Southend, at full strength apart from the 1st teams official worst player James Lockwood, started brightly and looked in fine form with Gareth Ingram pulling the strings in midfield. Eventually a quick break ended with a fine finish from Starwberry and we were in the lead. The forward line continued to look menacing and another strike from Strawberry and one from Christian Jenkins along with one from the oposition meant that we went into the half time break cruising with a 3 - 1 lead. The forwards looked as if they were in great form and will cause a lot of teams trouble this season if they carry on like this.
Then it all went wrong. Indiscipline throughout the team and a couple of defensive errors meant that all of a sudden Broxbourne were allowed back into the game. 3 - 1 became 3 - 3, then Strawbs completed his hat-trick, and then they scored again. Another quick break and Ian "Puppy" Crompton sniffed one in at the back post and we were ahead again. Broxbourne pushed on with relentless pressure on the Southend goal but Johnny 5 was alive to the danger and pulled off a series of good saves to earn himself the man of the match award. Eventually though, the pressure told and Southend cracked. Quick goals meant that Broxbourne pulled off a smash and grab raid, winning 7 - 5.
This was one of the most disappointing games we have ever been involved with. I thought we were the better team and yet we ended up throwing a game away we should have won. On the plus side I think that Broxbourne will be one of the better teams in our division and we showed we can more than handle this level when we play properly and keep our discipline.
Hopefully this will be a lesson learned and the springboard to greater things from next week onwards.
Team - 5, Arnold, Styles, Hayman, Mellish, Hill, Ingram, Crompton, Needham, Utton, Jones, Jenkins.
Goals - Jenkins, Utton 3, Crompton
Man of the match - Johnny 5
Ladies 1st XI Vs Redbridge & Ilford
Win 3 - 2
Sat 23rd Sept @ Redbridge. Push Back - 12pm
Our first league game. Playing Redbridge is normally a tough game. last season it turned into a shambles with some heated comments and some aggressive play by both teams!!! so we were hoping this season would be different.
We started very strong and determined and scored the first goal within ten minutes, a cracking shot by Naomi. kendal quickly followed that up by a superb goal just 5 minutes later. We were all playing really well, picking up our players and marking quite tightly. Unfortunately redbridge were also determined and came back with a goal before half time from a short corner.
The second half then turned into a scrappy affair. Redbridge was also hosting a netball tournament, being played on the courts just behind our pitch with another game being played on the second pitch so you can imagine how many whistles were being blown!!! it was bad enough in the first half!!! but the second half just seemed worse. The play got very scrappy, with both teams hesitating when a whistle was blown not knowing if it was our umpires or not. Then there was confussion between the umpires too!!! who blew for what and what decisions had been made!!! We were lucky enough to get a long corner about 15 minutes into the half, naomi was able to get possession which she hit across the D were i was able to get on the end of it unmarked and swept it into the goal, taking us to 3-1.
Redbridge played hard and fought back and were given a very lucky penalty flick, lucky because the redbridge umpire blew for a foot inside the D signalling a short corner then when the ball came to a stop with one of our defenders she blew for a second offense of Back of Stick and then gave the Penalty Flick???? how on earth that can happen we don't know and when we asked the umpire she was not willing to discuss it. Another moment of complete confussion!!! no surprise there then. The game finished a few minutes later with a final score of 3-2 to us. Its always nice to win the first league game. Well played ladies and well done for staying focused amongst the confusion, even if i just lost it again myself!!!
Team: Lisa Ballard, Sandy Revell (C), Anne Johnson, Nicola Coleman, Louise Marsack, Heidi Shepherd, Lora Sharples, kendal Colman, Adele Cole, Naomi Barker, Sarah Watkinson, Steph Gregory.
Goal Scorers: Naomi Barker, Kendal Colman, Sandy Revell
Southend & Benfleet Ladies II - 1, Basildon III - 2
The first match of the season didnt go as planned as Basildon broke through the Southend defence and scored midway through the first half, against the
run of play. They scored again early in the second half but Southend heads didnt drop and they got back in the game with a superb goal from Louise Marsack (her first for the club!) assisted by Dani Fletcher and Anne-Marie
Byford. Despite desperate efforts and hard work Southend failed to hit the backboard again.
Southend and Benfleet V Brentwood 4
3rd Team Division 4
23rd September 2006
Team – Georgina Jones, Verna Scroxton, Kelly Frend, Philipa Chandler, Sarah Brooks, Emma Phillips, Christine Baker, Gail Swain, Alpha Thomas, Caitlin Meredith, Nicole Kelly and Lisa Hockley.
The first half of the game started off very well and the team worked well together. Brentwood scored before we did, but we did have a lot of opportunities before the first goal was scored. We then fought back straight away with a goal from Caitlin.
The second half the game was pretty even and then Brentwood scored a 2nd goal quite near the end and then again we came back with a second goal from Sarah Brooks. Overall for our second game of the season I thought everyone did well.
The two teams were very even with their play and there several times where we had good breaks and so did Brentwood. We both opened up gaps in each others teams to get through to score.
Well done to all the girls we have got off to a good start.
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