WON 1-0 vs St John’s
Scorer: Emily Long
After a very long break away from the Hockey pitch, the 1st XI had a great opportunity to play a good St John’s side. It was clear at the start of the game that both sides had lacked match practice and it took the first 15 minutes to get back to somewhere near the level of the game that was played in the Michaelmas term.
Both sides showed real promise in attack, creating a number of chances, only to be denied by the goalkeepers in each net. Epsom, playing a new system, strung together some flowing attacking play, leading to a number of short corners that were well defended by St John’s. However, the girls made this continued first-half pressure count, a great move down the left side leading to Emily Long (R) smashing the ball into the bottom corner past the despairing keeper. The end of the half came too soon for Epsom, as they looked to press on and score a second.
St John’s came out in the second half with new energy and flipped the game on its head. This changed the whole outlook of the game, as St John’s piled on the pressure and Epsom had to start to use their pace to play on the counter-attack. Bella Watkins (R) in the Epsom goal was very much the star of the second half and must have made in excess of ten saves to keep the team in the lead. With 10 minutes to go, it looked as if St John’s would score to level the game but some last-ditch tackling enabled Epsom to set up a fast counter. However, this attack led to the ball sliding just wide of the post. After some last-minute short corners that St John’s were not able to convert, the final whistle went and victory was confirmed.
Playing in a very different way, the side showed good progression and can look forward to the next fixture against Reed’s on Friday 7 May.
