Ladies’ 7s lose out at Kidlington

On a balmy day in Kidlington, Hawks Ladies’ 7s geared up for the match ahead with some motivational tunes and a warm-up near the D. The match start approached quickly. We organised into a small circle to rattling our sticks together and shout 'HAWKS!'. We were out on the pitch ready to play.

Hawks started strongly with some great ball possession, dangerous attacks and excellent teamwork in the Kidlington half from Anoushka, Liv, Flora, Ros and Sarah R. However, this was unfortunately short lived with a sudden switch of play resulting in Kidlington scoring their first goal. This was followed by Kidlington scoring two more goals despite some excellent saves from Lily and some good team defending.

We had a half time discussion with both Liv, Gill and Lily providing some constructive feedback. This involved using space, setting up a stronger press and running to the ball.

The second half began with an opposition player colliding with Shiryne, leaving a nasty bump on her head. With Shiryne off the pitch and a bit of restructuring, Hawks were on the attack again. This time Hawks won a short corner. Anoushka stepped up to take the strike and although excellently executed, the Kidlington defence held strong. Soon it was our turn to defend short corners in quick succession. Despite the tireless efforts of Gill, Deborah, Sarah, Charlotte, Kim, Shiryne and Phil, Kidlington managed to get 3 more goals resulting in a final score of 0-6.

Overall, the scoreline does not reflect the play and determination shown by Hawks. Kidlington had an excellent press which made it difficult for Hawks to penetrate at times. Nominations for player of the match included Kim and Anoushka with Lily deservingly receiving the most votes. Thank you to the umpires and to Ros’ dad for the photos.