Teamsheet:
Quentin Oury
Joe Ward
Adam Figgins
Nick Batt
Lauren O'FLynn
Sinead O'Collins
Matt Cooke
Nicole Huisman
Mike Brown
Chris Waller
Anke Bez
Chris Price
Lizzie Hutchinson
Katie Wooding
(James Hooper - MIA)
Our first NAMS league game would also be our toughest. The Birmingham 1's have always proved to be tough opponents, being made up of club and sometimes county standard players. Not to mention, they came with an excessive amount of substitutes!
Despite all this, our entire team had their defensive hats on and managed to shut the Birmingham attacks down time after time, with Lauren O'Flynn commanding the back 4 with authority, instilling just the right amount of fear into the opposition forwards. As well as this, a shining star was born in goal, in the form of Jo Ward. Having donned the goalie kit for his first keeping appearance, he busted out some spectacular saves, leaving the Birmingham subs bench in disgusted horror.
Our defensive game was first class, preventing Birmingham from even looking like they were about to score until the end of the first half. Unfortunately, for such a strong defence, our counterrattacks had to be sacrificed, as we were lacking the fresh legs to keep everyone working to full potential over the entire pitch.
An impressive seasonal debut was had by Matt Cooke, and the return of Mike Brown to the hockey pitch was a welcom addition to the team. Both of whom put in solid performances in their various positions throughout the game.
As the second half commenced, the Birmingham teams frustration at not having scored a goal was beginning to show. Their game became significantly more physical, with some quite nasty tackles being thrown our way. However, the back four remained strong. Lauren was confident in her ability to take the hits, claiming, 'The only person who has ever been able to floor me is Chris' - Powerful words... unfortunately, our fitness and their substantially full bench, took a toll on our game, and the Birmingham players started to utilise their individual flair to get a few past us. With all our efforts focussed on defending against the ever increasing aggression of the Birmingham advances, and a few desperate runs forward from myself and Chris Waller in the final minutes of the game, our chances at claiming a goal back were looking pretty slim.
Overall, our performance was something to be proud of, conceding the least amount of goals in one full match of hockey against the Birmingham team, that we have done in the past 3 years.
Final result: Birmingham - 6, Warwick - 0
Man of the match: Lauren O'Flynn (Defending machine)/Joe Ward (Spectacular keeping)
Dick of the day: James Hooper (for driving to the wrong pitch at the wrong time and missing the entire game)
Quentin Oury
Joe Ward
Adam Figgins
Nick Batt
Lauren O'FLynn
Sinead O'Collins
Matt Cooke
Nicole Huisman
Mike Brown
Chris Waller
Anke Bez
Chris Price
Lizzie Hutchinson
Katie Wooding
(James Hooper - MIA)
Our first NAMS league game would also be our toughest. The Birmingham 1's have always proved to be tough opponents, being made up of club and sometimes county standard players. Not to mention, they came with an excessive amount of substitutes!
Despite all this, our entire team had their defensive hats on and managed to shut the Birmingham attacks down time after time, with Lauren O'Flynn commanding the back 4 with authority, instilling just the right amount of fear into the opposition forwards. As well as this, a shining star was born in goal, in the form of Jo Ward. Having donned the goalie kit for his first keeping appearance, he busted out some spectacular saves, leaving the Birmingham subs bench in disgusted horror.
Our defensive game was first class, preventing Birmingham from even looking like they were about to score until the end of the first half. Unfortunately, for such a strong defence, our counterrattacks had to be sacrificed, as we were lacking the fresh legs to keep everyone working to full potential over the entire pitch.
An impressive seasonal debut was had by Matt Cooke, and the return of Mike Brown to the hockey pitch was a welcom addition to the team. Both of whom put in solid performances in their various positions throughout the game.
As the second half commenced, the Birmingham teams frustration at not having scored a goal was beginning to show. Their game became significantly more physical, with some quite nasty tackles being thrown our way. However, the back four remained strong. Lauren was confident in her ability to take the hits, claiming, 'The only person who has ever been able to floor me is Chris' - Powerful words... unfortunately, our fitness and their substantially full bench, took a toll on our game, and the Birmingham players started to utilise their individual flair to get a few past us. With all our efforts focussed on defending against the ever increasing aggression of the Birmingham advances, and a few desperate runs forward from myself and Chris Waller in the final minutes of the game, our chances at claiming a goal back were looking pretty slim.
Overall, our performance was something to be proud of, conceding the least amount of goals in one full match of hockey against the Birmingham team, that we have done in the past 3 years.
Final result: Birmingham - 6, Warwick - 0
Man of the match: Lauren O'Flynn (Defending machine)/Joe Ward (Spectacular keeping)
Dick of the day: James Hooper (for driving to the wrong pitch at the wrong time and missing the entire game)