Dangerous pitch causes Ladies 1s Plate abandonment

The extremely cold conditions put paid to an exciting Scottish Plate match at Meggetland today. Both teams and umpires were aware of a couple of slippery parts of the pitch before push back, but agreed to start the match.

Watsonians 2s started the match at a brisk tempo and put the ladies under pressure from the start. We didn't help ourselves by making some early mistakes and Ava Yip made a good save and clearance in the second minute. It took us four or five minutes to get into the game and started making some better passes.With Watsonians adopting a very attacking formation and leaving three up front, there was space in midfield to exploit. As the defence began to control the threat from our neighbours, Orla Roberts and Tallulah McMorris pulled the strings in the middle of the pitch. With Anna Burnett and Sorcha Shepherd causing damage down the flanks, we were looking increasingly dangerous in attack. However, against the run of play, our neighbours took the lead from our nemesis - a penalty corner.

Despite the setback, there followed a period of play which was probably the best of the season. The passing was quick, the movement lively and we pushed Watsonians back inside their 23. We earned our reward by some persistent play. Anna and Rebecca combined in attack but as it seemed that a great tackle had stopped the attack, Orla and Rebecca again put the ball into the danger zone for Susan Rome to smash the equaliser home.

At quarter end, guest coach Billy emphasised the importance of our strikers making more runs in the D. His encouragement was implemented immediately, as our strikers increased their mobility and Watsonians were left scrambling at the back. A couple of corners didn't produce any reward but the combination play between defence and midfield and subsequently midfield and attack were easily the most impressive part of the season to date. Although Watsonians gained some more possession towards the end of the quarter, they failed to threaten our defence, but the overall quality of the match was outstanding. The sign of what was to come came at the end of the quarter as Susan slipped going into a tackle with the end result looking more like a tackle from the adjacent football pitch.

At half time, the umpires conferred with managers and captains and it was agreed to leave any decision about continuing the match to the officials. Their mind was made up within two minutes of starting the third quarter as Iona showed why she will not be appearing in Dancing on Ice. Sadly an enterprising contest and a strong performance was brought to an early end and the teams will try again to progress at some unknown date in the future.

It would be very difficult to select a player of a half match, as there were strong performances across the squad. Even allowing for a regular flow of substitutions, partly designed to prevent hypothermia in the dugout, players slotted into the formation with aplomb and kept the play flowing.

Always good to finish on an amusing moment. When Caitlin John came off after a hefty blow on the foot, one member of the shivering bench asked if she wanted some ice. Even Caitlin in her pain could join in the laughter through chattering teeth.