Corsham perform daylight heist, break Croft hearts

After the previous weeks’ Park Lane or, Mayfair like performances this week had more of the faint whiff of the Old Kent Road… Corsham played their Get Out Of Jail Free card and won a game they had no business winning. Such is life at the top, winning when not playing at optimum level is how champions are defined.

Going in, the ladies knew this was going to be a battle, Croft are not a team to be trifled with and have always acquitted themselves well against Corsham so, it was hardly the best start, when Corsham turned over their first possession and allowed Croft to take a lead they would hold for the next fifty-nine minutes. The remainder of the first half was littered with missed opportunity and error. From the side line it was like watching that progress bar that teases across the bottom of your computer screen… it surges forward… then drops back, surges…, drops… never quite delivering the expected download.

Trailing 24-17 at halftime a shuffling of the deck was brought about with Ruth moving into WA and Alice to GA. Initially Corsham faltered and fell further behind but slowly, almost imperceptibly, the tide began to turn… There was a collective rolling up of sleeves and knuckling down, a back to basics shift where possession is king and percentages are weighed before a pass is made. Corsham won the third 11-6 to trim the deficit to two, 30-28.

The pressure was beginning to tell on the Croft followers, there was a definite nervousness to their entreaties, the confident chirruping of the first half had been replaced by either stony silence or snarling, foam flecked, bug-eyed beseeching… Maybe this transmitted itself to the team, still leading by 3 with three minutes to go, with a memorable victory seemingly in their grasp, they stumbled and staggered towards the finish line, like a hen-do gone wrong… Corsham, showing all their experience, crafted a superb last three minutes. Scoring with their possession, forcing the turnover and, with steely resolve, taking that to goal. A turnover only really counts if you then score with your subsequent possession and this Corsham achieved with the dead-eyed demeanour of an assassin. With the scores now level Croft, now thoroughly panicked, forced a pass into the circle where a pass into the circle wasn’t meant to go… Corsham, from the backline pass, assuredly dinked and dunked their way down the court and scored. In the dying seconds, amid a shrieking tumult from the sidelines, Lou to Alice, Alice to Lou, Lou to Ruth, Ruth to Alice, Alice to Michelle, Michelle scores and the final whistle blows. Corsham 41, Croft 39… It was a bit tough on Croft as exactly the same occurred the previous weekend in their game with Pinehurst, led the majority of the game and lost by two. Against Corsham they led for all but 50 seconds… Unfortunately for them it was the last 50 seconds.

Correspondents’ player; Alice Wilson, epic performance, a driving resolve, sure handling, belief, playing multiple positions… Brillo.

Croft player; Lou Blackman; no argument here, all action heroine again. Her level of consistency is a constant marvel.
Stat of the week; The game marked the first time our mascot (James) was in attendance and Corsham won…

p.s Big game at the weekend… RTM, the only other team with a 100% record… If Corsham are to effect a monopoly on the division there will need to be a bit more racing car and top hat in Mayfair and a bit less flat iron and old boot in the Old Kent Road… Come on you Blues…!