Monday night saw a tense
conclusion to the Autumn league. In the first
game of the evening, the B team slipped to a 4-1
defeat against the runaway league winners
Wycombe High School. A&C's failure to keep
possession in the first half saw the school pull
into a 3-1 lead. But despite plenty of
possession in an evenly fought second half A&C
failed to find the finishing touch in the circle
and the school eventually added a further goal
for a 4-1 defeat.
Which left things
interestingly poised. Sonning had finished the
season on 10 points, and our B team was now left
on the same number - with one game to play
against our A side! And the 3 goal defeat
against the school meant the goal difference was
now down to 1 in favour of A&C compared with
Sonning, meaning a win or draw would keep the B
side up, a 2 goal defeat would sent them down,
and a one goal defeat would mean it was decided
on goals scored - but I didn't know where that
stood.
As coach I decided not to
tell either side the situation, and the B side
started brightly with a string of corners. But
Vicki covered her angles well and kept all
attempts out, and the A side scored against the
run of play via Rachel. And the score remained
1-0 at half time. And then early in the second
half the A side extended their lead.
However the B side got back
into the game with a penalty corner from Erin as
she worked an angle to shoot past Vicki, and
this was followed by a well converted penalty
from Emma after a foot on the line stopped a
goal-bound shot. Considerable relief on the
bench at this stage, but the game continued to
be end to end, so it was far from settled. But
in the last couple of minutes two further goals
from the B side was more than enough to secure a
top league place for another season.
And so into the last game of
the season, between our A side and Wycombe Rye.
As ever a close fought game between the two
sides, with Wycombe taking a 2-0 lead at
half-time, only for a fine reverse stick goal
from Katy Shaw and two pieces of skill from
Rachel turning this around into a 3-2 lead
midway through the second half. Despite plenty
of chances and corners A&C failed to extend this
lead, and two late goals from Wycombe completed
a disappointing night for the A team.
Overall we believe the B side
came 4th with 13 points and the A side 5th with
11 points. Sonning we believe were relegated
(6th) with 10 points and Wycombe Rye came 3rd
with 14 points - incredibly tight, and those two
late goals made a big difference to the placings.
I hope I've got this all correct - the final
table should be out soon anyway!
Lastly some big thank you's
to three people:
To Mike and Chris for umpiring week after week.
It's fair to say the league would not have
operated without their support given the failure
of other clubs to provide a single umpire on
match nights, never mind two. So thank you guys.
And to Otty, without whom you
wouldn't have got any Indoors this year. With my
current chaotic/manic work schedule I have been
able to do far less organising this year and
Otty has done all the work behind the scenes to
keep things together. So please give her your
thanks when you next see her.
Have a great Christmas.
