Cliftonville 2nd XI vs Gravesend 2nd XI
Report and photo by Cat Doherty
The plan was to leave at about 11am. Tracy messaged the group at 11.04 asking where everyone was. People soon started arriving, so that was positive. 11.33 and we learned that Sally’s car had broken down in a dangerous spot on the Thanet Way. The troops rallied and shared the load of passengers & kit, leaving Sally & Ruocco with (but not in) the car.
10 players were now on their way to Gravesend with messages flying – are the coppers good looking, are the shirts in Steve’s car… the normal stuff.
All at once, the squad arrived, and the pre-match team talk started. “Let’s go have some fun”. We headed out to the pitch, concerned for the safety of the two we left behind, concerned for the state of Cat’s lungs, and started a gentle warm-up. We soon learned that they had been escorted to safety, and the RAC were en-route.
Lineup- Emily in goal. Kryssi RB, Cheryl CB, Olga LB. Julie DM. Sara RM/RW. Tracy AM. Ineta LM/LW. Cat CF. Maddie everywhere else.
As for the game… Gravesend scored quite early on from open play, making the most of their advantage. We were definitely the more communicative team, and soon our “disadvantage” wasn’t noticable. After all, the umpires hadn’t realised we were one short on pitch. Ville put together some solid passes and we put some decent pressure in their D. They retaliated with a second goal, despite the best efforts of our defence. We were working hard, and together.
Half time and we were 2-0 down. The jelly babies, a gift from our umpires, were handed round and the team talk consisted of “We’re doing amazing, let’s keep it up. Sally and Ruocco are on their way!” Spurred on by this good news we headed back onto the pitch after taping up Emily’s kicker.
Not long into the second half, a clearance pinged off a Gravesend player’s stick straight up into her forehead. Time stopped. Ice applied. Player left the field with some new (small) holes in her face and a headache. Thankfully, she’s ok. They scored two more. I think one was a short corner. They had quite a few of those during the match. The rest were defended superbly by Emily and her cohort of defenders.
Shortly after, we saw Sally & Ruocco warming up on the sideline! The joy! Sally was first on to replace Kryssi at RB, and Ruocco joined me up front.
55 minutes in, and Maddie won a short. Julie injected the ball to Sally, controlled it well, and sent it to Tracy, who had stepped in for the slip. It went through a crowded goalmouth and in! We were ecstatic! Gravesend, not so much. That definitely lifted us. That didn’t last too long, as Ineta took a ball to the leg and hopped off the field for a mo. We then realised we needed three goals in about 10 minutes if we were going to win this.
After some rolling substitutions, we were awarded another short. Naturally Sally stepped up. Another fine delivery from Julie, and *THWACK* – it went like a bullet into the bottom corner. The final whistle blew immediately afterwards. We might have lost 4-2, but you wouldn’t have known it.
| Gravesend 2nd XI | 4-2 | Cliftonville 2nd XI |
| Tracy Ballard | ||
| Sally Maiden-Tilsen |
Cliftonville 2nd XI vs Folkestone Ops 4th XI
Report by James Perks
After a poor result and performance last week, Ville were determined to put in a much better performance.
Folkestone won a penalty corner in the first five minutes. The initial drag flick was going wide but unfortunately it hit the Ville Goalies stick and deflected back into play and our own net to make it 1-0 Folkestone.
Ville came out looking strong and then started to take the game to Folkestone. After a few attacks that didn’t bring anything, Dave Hooper broke free from just inside their half and drove at the Folkestone defence beating a few and unleashing a shot into the far corner which their keeper couldn’t get near. A great solo run and finish! 1-1.
Another Folkestone penalty corner resulted in another goal from a well taken routine. 2-1.
They managed to score another before half time, this time from open play. The scoreline wasn’t a true reflection on the game but that is hockey and at the break we were 3-1 down despite edging the first half.
The half team talk was a positive one from 1st XI captain Alex Cowell, who had come to support.
Ville came out of the blocks quickly in the 2nd half. Ville’s 2nd goal came again from Dave Hooper an almost carbon copy of his 1st, with another solo run bursting through from midfield into the D and tucking it away to make it 3-2.
Not long after Cliftonville had levelled it up. A long ball forward found Perks up top by himself with his back to goal, he managed to beat the defender, drive into the D and slipped it across to an oncoming Mr Hooper, not Dave but Simon this time, who slotted it home to make it 3-3. Another great run and finish from our Iniesta!
Folkestone were awarded another penalty and again managed to make it count. Hughes in the Ville goal managed to save well from the 1st attempt and cleared his lines only to find the centre forward who at his 2nd attempt made no mistake and found the net to make it 4-3.
There was still time for Folkestone to get another, it finished 5-3.
A spirited performance from Cliftonville despite the defeat and a marked improvement on last week. Even the Folkestone lads afterwards who came back to the clubhouse were surprised they came away with the win. Plenty of positives to take away from today and a few things to work on ready for next week’s late away game.
| Cliftonville 2nd XI | 3-5 | Folkestone Ops 4th XI |
| Dave Hooper (x2) | ||
| Simon Hooper |
