L1 v Upminster

The Crostyx Ladies knew from the offset that the match would be a tough one with Upminster earning a short corner within the first 5 minutes. Excellent defending and two brilliant saves from the goalkeeper, Oli Thorogood ensured that they were kept at bay. Either side had to battle fiercely in the middle of the pitch with much of the play occurring here. The Crostyx team effectively held Upminster and denied their wishes for a goal until towards the end of the first half. The goal was slotted perfectly into the bottom right hand corner and there was little anyone could do. The Ladies kept their heads up and reset quickly to challenge Upminster. MoM Anna Feldman was excellent in feeding the ball out from defence and regularly found midfielders Lara, Sophie, Ella and Maddy who sent the ball further up the pitch. The Upminster defence’s basics were strong and it was difficult for Crostyx’s defences to get much opportunity in their D. However, continual pressure paid off and a Crostyx short corner narrowly hit the post. At half time the Ladies had managed to hold the opposition to 1-0 and they were eager to test them further in the second half.

Crostyx continued to show excellent hockey all the way through the match. Great link up play saw some further short corners and the girls were unlucky not to score. However, the Upminster team kept Crostyx’s defence under pressure and they clinically converted their own short corners to goals - leading to the match ending 4-0. Nonetheless the girls are playing better and better and cannot wait to refine their skills during training before beating Bishop Stortford next week.