Lowestoft Ladies II 0 v Carlton Park I 5

25/10/08

With the captain thinking she had 11 players she was totally gutted when she realised that she had cocked up and had only 10. So for the second week running she was wishing she had a pair of brown cycling shorts!!! So with advice from her team mates the team was re-vamped to accommodate her slip up.

Park started off quite positively but it took them a short time to adapt to playing with only two strikers up front. They passed the ball much better than the previous week with the passes being short and accurate. The home side were quick on the break but the defence of Mercedes Buckle, Kirsty Marshall and Mel Rodwell covered well. Players also read the game very well and if a defender burst up the pitch another one covered her position. Park kept up the pressure on the home side’s defence and were unlucky not to score from a penalty corner when Mel Rodwell’s shot went wide. But Park persevered and eventually got the breakthrough when good running down the wing from Vicky Le Fanu saw her pass the ball into the ‘d’. Denise Manning’s shot was saved by the keeper but she pounced on the loose ball and her second attempt found its way between the keeper’s legs and into the goal. An injury to a Lowestoft player then saw play stopped for a short time and this gave Park a chance to have a very positive team talk. Their second goal came from a penalty corner when the ball was fed out wide to Roo Mackie. Her shot was saved but the ball was cleared back to her and she swiped the ball into the net. Park now found their rhythm and played some excellent hockey. Tori Walton worked hard in midfield supported well by Justine Howe and Roo Mackie. Park finished the scoring for the half when Vicky Le Fanu again caused problems on the wing and beat her defender and her shot from an acute angle found the gap between the keeper and the post.

In the second half Park kept up the pressure and dominated the play. Emma Tuckwell pushed further up the field and was unlucky not to add her name to the scoresheet when her shot on goal just went wide. The Lowestoft keeper was kept busy in the goal and pulled out some excellent saves. Vicky Le Fanu scored her second goal when a scramble in the ‘d’ resulted in the ball being pushed under the goalie and Vicky Le Fanu was on hand to guide the ball into the net. Again like the first half Lowestoft were quick on the break but some good tracking back by Mel Rodwell, Mercedes Buckle and Kirsty Marshall kept a clean sheet with Karen Fletcher hardly tested in the goal. Park finished the scoring when a shot on goal was drifting wide of the post only for Denise Manning to get there and reverse stick the ball into the open goal. An excellent team performance with Park managing to find acres of space and everyone pulling out the stops to compensate for being a player down with another clean sheet. (Phew was I a relieved little bunny!!)

Squad: Karen Fletcher, Kirsty Marshall, Mercedes Buckle, Mel Rodwell, Emma Tuckwell, Justine Howe, Tori Walton, Roo Mackie, Vicky Le Fanu, Denise Manning

Report by Denise Manning.