Ladies vs Barnes Stormers

The mighty NPL ladies were back at Ashford for a tough, physical battle against Barnes Stormers - made slightly more manageable when Hank arrived in the nick of time to ensure we had at least one sub - Phew! 

From the first whistle, the team showed incredible determination, energy and resilience, with brilliant contributions all over the pitch:

🧡Moosie was outstanding in goal, making fantastic saves and taking down a Barnes forward complete with legs and body to ground - no easy goals here! 

Tricia put in a powerhouse performance at the back, delivering some cracking hits and standing strong under pressure. 

🧡Maddy made brilliant carries up the wing, driving forward and helping keep the momentum moving in our direction. 

Caro was electric down the wing too, producing superb drives and responding to Barnes’ physical approach with some excellent rugby-style tackles. If they wanted to get physical, we were more than happy to play that game too (they didn’t like that so much - hehe😜).

🧡J9 provided brilliant defensive cover wherever it was needed, throwing herself into the action and making sure Barnes never had an easy route through. 

Sarah ran tirelessly from start to finish, always appearing in exactly the right place and putting in a huge shift for the team. 

🧡I found myself locked in a determined - and slightly chaotic - tussle with a young Barnes player. Every time we went head-to-head, it became its own little dance-off: plenty of footwork, questionable choreography and no backing down! 💃🏑

Jen was superb at driving the game forward and distributing the ball, before producing the moment of the match: WHAT A GOAL! A fabulous strike from the short corner!!!🎯🔥

🧡 Rae worked tirelessly up front, running the forward line with real purpose while also dropping back to support the midfield whenever she heard one of us say “oh no!”. Forward, midfielder, emergency battery pack - Rae was in. 

Ali made brilliant runs across the pitch and was wonderfully effective at getting in the opposition’s way. A masterclass in being exactly where Barnes didn’t want her to be!

🧡 Zandie held the defensive line solidly, often making two tackles in quick succession and refusing to let Barnes break through. 

Hanks jumped into the action with excellent use of space on the left, stopping the Barnes players in their tracks, keeping us in the fight. 

Sadly, it wasn’t our day, with the match ending in a 3–1 defeat to Barnes. But the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story. We created plenty of chances, looked really solid in the first half and played some fantastic hockey against a strong, physical side.

With only one sub, the legs were understandably tired, but we hung on in there and the team spirit never left the field. Every player kept battling right to the final whistle, and that resilience is something to be proud of.

Brilliant effort, ladies - well played out there today 🏑🧡🩵 The goals & wins will come, we are building, you can just feel it!