Ladies 1's finally win Again

Hertford ladies 1's finally got the break they've been waiting for in a well-deserved 2-0 win against Basildon at the weekend.

Hertford didn't know what to expect playing a new team for the 1st time but went onto the pitch hungry for a win. Basildon started very strong; they attacked Hertford consistently in the first 10 minutes and made our defence work extremely hard. They had a number of pacey players which they used to channel through the middle and which initially forced Hertford to draw in and not use the width. Basildon won a short corner early on which went onto a run of 5 successive short corners; however they were unable to score past the Hertford defence.

About 15 minutes into the game Hertford seemed to find their feet and began to play their own game. They used the width in the middle and on the wings where Hertford players were unmarked and used their pace to drive at the goal. The first goal from Hertford came with about 10 minutes left of the first half with some excellent ball play from Sophie Rawlinson, Sian Foster and finally to Liz Berry who played it through the keepers legs to put Hertford ahead.

At half time it was clear the game was far from over and Hertford were expecting Basildon to come back on the pitch with the same aggression as they did at the start. However; the second half started as the first half had ended with Hertford maintaining good possession of the ball. Basildon began to get frustrated and soon into the half one of their players was given a green card for back chatting the umpire. Hertford transferred the ball fantastically all across the pitch and attacked Basildon with great pace. A couple of short corners were given to us in the second half but Hertford were unable to convert. Basidon had a couple of chances on the break and one particularly close call where it was saved on the line and cleared by Nicky Estherby to keep Hertford in the lead. The second goal for Hertford was again through fantastic play up the left hand side of the pitch between Maddy Twyning and Sophie Rawlinson and the goal from Sian Foster was a classic turn and strike leaving the Basildon keeper with no chance. After the second goal Hertford heads were high and they continued with a wave of attacks putting continuous pressure on the opposition right up until the final whistle. A great game of hockey by Hertford and a well deserved win.