On a blustery morning, Waterside kicked off the second half of the season against Havant knowing that a win would fire them up the table. With strong support on the sidelines and a rousing team talk from Linda armed with her laminates, Waterside were raring to go….

Unfortunately Havant scored an early goal from a short corner. However Waterside continued to play the attractive hockey that’s won them many fans across the country (or county?) this season. With slick passing and fine movement, Waterside put pressure on the Havant defence but couldn’t get a clean strike on goal. A long punt upfield from Havant saw Tina pull off a fine one handed save. My-Lin battled well up front, winning the ball back from the Havant defence, setting Esther up for a run into the D but for the Havant defence to intercept her cross. So 1-0 at half time, Waterside knew the game was there for the taking!

Into the second half, Waterside were slow starters and Havant took advantage, scoring a second from open play and shortly after a third goal from a short corner. Though 3-0 down, Waterside heads didn’t drop and they battled well, keeping possession and moving the ball well. Some fine runs from Jo and Esther kept the pressure on the Havant defence. Finally this pressure was rewarded, with a debut goal from Dudley and then another goal from Dudley! Could the comeback be on?

A storming run from Stuart Little into the D saw the ball fall to Dudley who scored. Unfortunately the goal was disallowed, despite the protests from Stuie, it was the right decision as the ball had come off her foot/knee/arm. Waterside kept pressing, with Cherry storming up the pitch, cutting through the midfield traffic like an ambulance on-call.

Unfortunately time was against Waterside and as they continued to knock on the door they couldn’t find a way through. The match finished 3-2.

Well battled ladies, we kept going to the end and were unfortunate not to get a point, having more possession and playing better hockey than Havant. Well done to Cherry who was POM and also to Dudley for scoring two goals, in the right place at the right time. Esther also took a nasty hit to the mouth and feared her front tooth had been knocked out, thankfully not, maybe you should invest in a gum shield Esther??

Over and out Emma