Oxford Hawks Women’s O35 EH Cup

Our opposition only had a short trip down the road in the first round of the Women's Over 35 EH Tier 1 cup. With L1/2s also playing in the cup you could have easily been confused that players lined up on the wrong pitch, but with both Hawks teams earning victories it goes to show the strength and depth in the club.

The Over 35s had both youth, at 34 (a players date of birth is key here) to players in their early 50s - so almost 17 years of experience spanned the team. With five players welcomed to the team for the first time, it was a strong line up to face to Wallingford, and it didn't take long for the first goal to be scored. Hibby latched on to the ball in the circle to score within the first 3 minutes quickly followed by a brace from Reaney, then Jo-Jo popped up with a brace after 10 year away from the game. 5-0 after the first quarter and the girls were on fire.

The second quarter was a quieter affair in front of goal, probably due to asking a few players to play out of position as the team was very forward heavy, but they stood up the challenge. With good connections and excellent pace on the ball, the forwards used the height and width of the pitch to open up the Wallingford defence. Reaney was on the end of a nice string of passes to get a first half hattrick.

After the half-time oranges (thank you Amy) the third quarter saw us scoring goals more freely again. Bex scored from a penalty corner with pin point accuracy into the corner of the goal. It was quickly followed by Kim Fowler's reverse stick strike only to be disallowed as a penalty corner had been blown. Not to be deterred, Kim did score from open play, this one counted, followed by Hibby's second of the game. 9-0 at the end of the third quarter.

The final quarter beckoned and the coach (only on paper, I can't call myself a coach, just the person making the subs supported by Rosie) asked for a last push. Zoe obliged with a strike from open play followed by Bex's second, again from a penalty corner. 11 goals, a clean sheet and everybody left the pitch injury free, a good day at BRN and the girls are looking forward to the draw in the next round to be played on 17 November.