Ladies’ 1s in tough game at Trojans

On a sunny Saturday the Ladies 1st XI travelled to Southampton for our first away match of the season. With a win and draw already under our belts, Hawks were aiming to continue our unbeaten streak.

Trojans came out quickly at the start of the match. The first 5 minutes were quite messy which Trojans capitalised on with an open play goal while Hawks needing to quickly adapt to the style of advantage played. Trojans kept up the pressure through the first half, closing down Hawks players with a ratio of 4 to 1 which required some impressive skill, especially from the midfield, to outmanoeuvre! Hawks started to make better connections and fit into the rhythm of the match as the half progressed, with attacking chances made difficult to convert as Trojans opted for defending with virtually all their players inside their defensive D. Feisty tackles and challenges from both teams led to emotions running high and this was not a match we wanted to lose!

The second half saw both teams come out hard with Trojans pressing high against Hawks and reading our transfer well. This required our defence to change tactics slightly and attacking opportunities came, especially when starting from rapid cross-pitch sliding passes from Sally Clark at centre back which cut through the press. Trojans responded to the increase intensity from Hawks and after a ferocious period in our defensive D, won a penalty flick which led to Trojans extending their lead to 2-0. After a passionate team-talk before the last quarter, Hawks responded with hard pressure throughout the final 17.5 minutes with strong play across all three lines and great connections between the midfield and Tiny and Lexie Spurr up front. Clarie Caruth led some quick drives forward through the midfield which led to shots on goal and short corners which were rebuffed by the Trojans keeper, making some good saves. Despite hard pressure and high intensity from Hawks in the match, especially in the final quarter, we were unable to score and the final score ended as 2-0 to Trojans.