Match report : Ladies 3rd XI 14 Oct

Windsor 2-2 Yateley

The Ladies 3s travelled to Eton with a trunk load of supporters - very welcome & really boosted team morale, encouraging a really high work rate. However, the visitors started a little on the back foot with a keen Windsor side hungrily chasing down every ball ; a series of attacks were ably handled by Nicki, Flippa & Helen.

We settled into our structure 10 mins in & started to get some dynamic runs through the middle from Lys to Hattie, Martha & India. We were attack heavy, but not necessarily D heavy, so running the ball in was the the main option. We tried to employ our training drill, with coaching calls of ‘90 degrees’, but we still haven’t quite worked out why that’s different from ‘square’… more geometry required at training methinks!

A flurry of short corners in our favour sent us close to the goal, with cheers from the sideline from supporters, bolstered by Yateley M3s who’d arrived for their match… but unfortunately not quite enough to get the score.
Windsor took advantage of leaving 2 players high as an outlet for any breaks & one such resulted in an overload of 4 v 2, making a easy switch in the D for a 1-0 lead as we went into the break.

Helen invoked some discipline with the half time talk which meant we started H2 with new energy & purpose. Megan fooling defenders with great dodges, Niamh tackling anyone in sight & winning the ball each time to put us in attacking position. Tracey covered both sides of the pitch anytime she spotted an unmarked player & we were really finding the passes, keeping possession & looking ever more dangerous on the attack with constant recycling of the ball. Another short & the ‘chuckle’ was employed with a perfectly timed pass by Hattie to Flippa, who placed the ball just beyond the reach of the keeper… with a little tip in from India, just to make sure (not stealing it at all…she says!).

Renewed confidence that 3 points could be ours, the attacks continued with ongoing possession & driving runs from Emily on the left, Izzy & Sharon on the right & anyone thinking of coming towards the Yateley defence being blocked by Lys in the middle.
A great run from Megan & fantastic strike … the ball slipped through the keepers pads to make it 2-1 with just a few mins to go.

Focused defence there was, but an unlucky decision meant a defensive short was the last play. A heavily packed D with Windsor attackers & a well placed ball clipped Flippa’s foot, and then into the net for a disappointing 2-2 draw. Gutted!

It was a fantastic team effort as well as some sturdy individual performances. A lot to be proud of & we’ll go for max points on the return match!

Mom: Megan
Dod: Daisy ducks & Theodora