The Under 16 girls Played Southampton at the sports centre on Sunday the 7th of April with the U16 Boys playing on the pitch next door.
It was a sea of yellow in the morning sunshine. Push back was at 10.45am prompt. Romsey got straight into their stride moving the ball nicely through midfield with Ella M and Tessa D combing well on the left.
Within the first five minutes Romsey were clearly on top with Clara H and Liz F bossing the midfield and a probing attack into the D resulted in the ball breaking out to the right where newly crowned (Most improved player of the season) Jess Grout had made a clever run towards the back post and as the ball came across she slotted it home calmly. 1-0!
Whilst Romsey were on top they had to be careful of the Southampton counter attack and their dangerous midfielder. However each time she got the ball in advanced positions the defenders Antonia L and Ellie E remained clam and did not jump in and waited for their moment to steal.
However a stick tackle in the D gave Southampton a Short corner. The injection was good and and the shot was hit true and fast and there was nothing daisy R could do to stop it 1-1!
After 15 Mins Jess G made a similar run to her first and took a lovely touch in the D and finished smartly into the corner 2-1! a Brace for Jess and Romsey back in the lead.
Not wanting to be left out Jess W was soon on the score sheet with her hard work paying off with neat work in the D and a precise finish to make it 3-1!
Romsey were now playing some of their best hockey of the season , the midfield was purring and Emily J and Clara H were picking out great forward passes to Anna R and Tessa D who were finding great positions up front.
This resulted in two short corners in quick succession and after a sighter Liz F stepped up for the second one which she caught perfectly and was soon greeted by the thud of the back board as the ball flew into the corner giving the keeper no chance. 4-1!
Halftime was approaching and Romsey were on top although a rare defensive slip let Southampton in on goal, katie S was doing her best to make it back on the cover , Daisy R took things into her own hands and came out from goal making a fantastic smothering challenge taking ball defender and attacker, great goal keeping!
Half time came and went , it was now a question of Romsey managing the game out. However Southampton made a strong start and within 10 mins got a goal back which gave them more confidence.
Romsey defence had to be on their mettle Alex O and Antonia L were getting to everything and were ably backed up by Katie S and Ellie E.
In Midfield Clara H , Ella M , Emily J and Jess W were working hard to plug holes and get Romsey forward which resulted in close efforts from Tessa D , Liz F and Anna R .
Although no second half goals came Romsey managed the game out well with a final score of 4-2 ,they richly deserved the win with their best performance of the season.
Victory was even sweeter as The U16 boys on the next pitch also won their match 4-1!
Player of the match Antonia L – Solid defending from the start to the finish.
