COWHC Ladies 1s vs. Surrey Spartans - 13 Oct 2018

To win MoM once is careless. To lovingly write a double match report the following week to spare one's team-mate that onerous literary task is pure generosity. To be nominated the following week feels like a conspiracy ... In fact, it only takes a brief look at the Hockey Rules (1981, amended version, Appendix D, page 11, paragraph 7.3) to see that "Any player who occupies the top goal scorer position and who has also done a good deed for a team-mate is exempt from being voted as MoM for a period of 4 league matches." Indeed, moving on to paragraph 11.6 (page 15) it is interesting to note that "Any player who has scored a hat-trick in a league match but, for whatever reason, was not voted as PoM in that match has bona fide exemption from being cast as MoM for the subsequent 3 seasons." It is a shame that the youth of today appear so unfamiliar with the hallowed rules of our beloved sport. If you ask me, that is as a result of too much time spent practising new fangled reverse stick manoeuvres.

But I digress. Today we travelled to Surrey Spartans windswept pitch; the pitch that will forever be etched in our memories as the scene of the 9 goal thriller at the end of the 2016/17 season that saw the Mighty COWs stave off relegation. It was indeed a match of two halves and so it is indeed a match report of two halves. Isn't it, Lizzy.

On an unseasonably warm Saturday, we were looking for our first league victory following an early loss and two draws. It's an energy sapping pitch and we carried a couple of walking wounded, so it might be fair to say that we trundled rather than sprinted at times.
But let me tell you about the goals.
We scored from a short corner: smacked at goal by Nicky and pounced on by Poppy.
They scored from a breakaway and a screaming strike into the corner (cracking goal, we have to admit).
We scored and celebrated. Having allowed us to trundle back to the centre, the umpire disallowed it. Something to do with someone's foot.
We broke through repeatedly; a goal mouth melee led to Alex somehow sliding the ball under the keeper (that's 3 in 3 matches, but I know no one is counting).
We broke away again; Alex fired a nice gentle hit along the ground for Poppy to tap in. Although a video replay may show it coming off my stick at 327 mph into the air and the heroically brave Poppy converting it into a goal at head height.

Huzzah ... a 3-1 victory for the 12 parched, tomato-coloured, sweaty, dehydrated Warriors of the Mighty COWs.

Over to you, Lizzy, for an in depth analysis of our tactics and our excellent variety of short corner routines ...

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The team was Lisa P, Lena, Emer, Lydia, LBell, Dicko, Alex, Lizzy, Nicky, Tani, Hannah and Poppy.
Thanks to James, Adam and Matt for their support.

PoM votes were: 0.5 for Lizzy, Nicky, Dicko and Matt, 1.5 for Alex, 5 for Lena and 5.5 for the heroic Poppy.
MoM votes were (approx): 1 each for Lena, Poppy and Dicko, 2 for Nicky and 4 each for Alex and Lizzy.