Ladies 2 News

Welcome to this weeks match report and what a corker of a game it was today for Oundle Ladies 2s. The theme and song this week is ‘Unstoppable’, as it captures the essence of the entire team but a few individuals absolutely deserve a mention for their performance today. After a frosty start to the day Oundle Ladies 2s faced Towcester 5s at home and the sun was shining for a glorious day of hockey. I want to put it out there that the club needs a new inter-club competition for the fastest goal scored from the first whistle as I think 2s Captain ‘Gaz-Ella’ Andrews is in with a strong shout of winning. ‘Gazelles are known as swift animals’ (Wikipedia, 2024), and my goodness this must be Ella’s spirit animal. The first whistle is blown, I’m still putting in my gum shield, and ‘Gaz-Ella’ (Gaz for short from now on) makes a dazzling play and scores in the first 17 seconds! Bravo! And what a start to the game! Towcester 5s had some skilful players themselves but they were over powered by our mids and forwards in particular today. As always, Helen Smith and Alex Duck made a formidable duo in the centre midfield but extra praise goes to Charlotte Webb and Caitlin Isaac this week. Without a doubt they worked their socks off for the team during the match. Charlotte demonstrated incredible speed today, running rings around the opposition quite literally. Charlotte and Tasha Darrington showed off an amazing 1-2-1 manoeuvre whereby Charlotte passed to Tasha before running the long way around the opposition down the wing, Tasha swiftly reverse stick passed it back to Charlotte who delivered it into the D. Absolutely beautiful hockey! Caitlin Isaac might look gentle and sweet but she is a force not to be messed with on the pitch. ‘Storm Caitlin’ as she will be known from now on, had all the strength on those 95mph winds last weekend! Where has this confidence come from? Because keep it coming! She made some great interceptions, moving the ball across the width of the pitch. And not backing down when confronted by the opposition. Caitlin and Charlotte win the prize for most ground covered in today’s game in my opinion. Back to some goal scoring! Gaz was determined to get a greater lead for the team today, and around 18 minutes into the first half, got her second goal. This was followed a few minutes later by a great strike from Helen Smith. Leaving us 3-0 in the lead at half time. The opposition had a few attempts on goal but the defence today worked hard to keep the ball out of our defensive D. Mrs Miyagi (Vicky Catt) was back on fine form as we’ve come to rely on. She is cool, calm and collected during the game, nothing seems to make her panic, including being closed in on by 4 of the opposition at once. She still won the ball and made a beautiful clear out from defence. Her hamstrings could rival those of Helen’s with her low blocks, strong side and on the reverse stick. Emily Burdett is following in her footsteps as she is another cool cucumber under pressure in defence. And Jude Robinson may well be the kindest player to ever grace to club, but don’t mistake her kindness for weakness as she is our secret weapon, an assassin in defence and not to be underestimated. Further goals came in the second half, a hat-trick for Gaz earning our Captain player of the match and the fifth goal from Oundle legend Tasha Darrington. Onward and upwards ladies, let’s hope the winning continues… ‘I’m unstoppableI’m a Porsche with no brakesI’m invincibleYeah, I win every single gameI’m so powerfulI don’t need batteries to playI’m so confidentYeah, I’m unstoppable today’

“She gets knocked down, but she gets up again. You are never gonna keep her down.” A little Chumbawamba inspiration this week to honour our player of the match.  May we all be upstanding for our Queen of the left wing, Grace Vanbergen. What. A. Woman!! If anyone is getting a round in at the Monty, I believe she also ‘drinks a whiskey drink, she drinks a vodka drink…’!  Oundle 2s took on Towcester 4s on home astro this week. And both teams were raring to go. Approximately 3 minutes into the game, during a swift attempt on goal, the oppositions GK collided with Grace. GK helmet vs Grace’s face was not a fair fight and the collision left Grace feeling slightly worse for wear with a sizeable bump above her left temple. Needless to say she needed a few minutes on the bench to collect herself. Ice pack applied and Vicky Catt by her side, the game resumed.  I just want to take this moment to highlight as a club where our priorities lie.  Thankfully Grace felt better after a short rest however initially it was evident someone needed to stay with her. Vicky instinctively supported Grace which left only 10 players on the pitch for 10 minutes but the team adapted and this was absolutely the right call. Players come first, the game second. And Vicky Catt demonstrated perfectly an example of our club ethos. Alex Duck also moved from her confident defensive midfield position to a lesser familiar role of left forward but didn’t bat an eyelid.  Being down a player did not deter one of our younger players Abbie Hodgson-Jones who joined the club only a few months ago. Her confidence has grown exponentially in just a few weeks.  She had a superb game playing in midfield this week and just 5 minutes into the game she facilitated the first goal of the game and her first goal for the club!! Another young player Caitlin Isaac is in her second season for Oundle HC. Caitlin showed off some superb skills and mostly won the ball from her opponent in 1 v 1 situations. Her confidence built throughout the game today, and she went from waiting for the ball to damn well taking it and driving it forwards. If she can build like that in a game, then she will be unstoppable by the end of the season.  Mid way through the first half and Grace and Vicky were back in play. You would never have known Grace had been injured. Vicky gave a masterclass in powerful hits from the defensive 16 throughout the game. She’s our very own Mrs Miyagi of Oundle Hockey.  Jude Robinson also stepped up for the team this week and volunteered to play in goal when she is usually outfield. Jude was a formidable GK considering and was very quick on her feet in the heavy kit.  Towcester were awarded a short corner toward the end of the first half and displayed a well executed play to score from this leaving the half time score 1-1.  Thank you once again this week to our club umpires who turn up week in, week out regardless of the weather to ensure our games can go ahead. Their job isn’t an easy one, especially with over vocal and over opinionated comments from the sidelines. Relentlessly. Through the entire game. Oundle HC thank you for being professional and honouring the game and players from both teams with your respect, fairness and courtesy.  The second half kicked off and the battle of the two teams was really quite evenly paced. Towcester had a great break in our play and scored again leaving Oundle a little nervous being a goal down. Grace Vanbergen had seemingly fully recovered by now and wasn’t going to be defeated today. Alongside Ella Andrews (Captain) she made some exceptional runs and plays, Grace scored another 2 goals giving Oundle the 3-2 win at the final whistle. Grace took player of the match this week but votes were widely split amongst the team today demonstrating that everyone in the had a strong week. Time for a cider drink and to sing the songs that remind me of the good times….