COWHC Ladies 2s vs Addiscombe Ladies 2s - 25th March

The game started like any other for the COWs Ladies 2s. With rigorous mental preparation the night before. Being a great field hockey player is about the desire to play. Skill can mostly be taught, but desire can’t. Captain Nicky led the way with this mantra by submitting herself to not one but two bottles of the WINEing formula. Many others followed our leader. Sammy showed particular dedication by mentally preparing all night to ensure she was in perfect zen state to take on the battle. For her sleep is for mere mortals. Pav on the other hand, demonstrated her ground-breaking method of entering a meditative trance in order to reach her peak desire level. So deep was this trance – that she wasn’t ready to play until 10 minutes after play had started. Truly inspiring.

Addiscombe Ladies 2s were a formidable opponent, not least their umpire whose war of words with Netty on the sideline set the tone of the match. The play was very much in their half – we were clearly the stronger side - but they broke away on two occasions and slipped to goals past us. The long corner hits from Camilla, 52 (that’s her shirt number not her age) caused us some issue until we worked out that it needed two of us to take her on.

We soon fought back with some great team play resulting in two fantastic finishes by Jade to secure a 2-2 draw. Goals, might I add, selflessly assisted by Kirsty, who now give up her Top Goal Scorer status to Jade. Don’t worry Kirsty – there is still one more match left.

Special mention must go to Vicky who ferociously fought her opponent with a tackle that landed her blow to the oppps head and twisting her ankle in the process. This is the desire we’re talking about.

With a great game under our belts, it was off to the clubhouse to greet the new caterers. 20 starving minutes went by and yet they were nowhere to be seen. But with the perseverance we’d shown from Friday night onwards, we eventually got our burger and chips (quite tasty actually) and all was well. This just goes to show - never, never, never give up.

Thanks to Nicky W for umpiring
POM - Jo Douglas
Goals - Jade Hope x 2