MATCH REPORT

Sutton Ladies dominated play away at Louth, making their first league game of the season a triumph. With a clutch of promising youngsters playing their first league hockey and Claire Smith returning to the fold it was time for a new team to see how they would gel. From the start of play, the green army took the game to Louth, testing their defense from the onset. It was only a matter of time until the continuous pressure forced the Louth defence to break. It was the quick pace from Katie Collingwood- Smith that saw her break through the middle of the pitch, sending the ball perfectly through the D for Sally Hoyles to score on her reverse stick, a first goal for the green army from Hoyles. Louth fought back and made a break down the left hand side to win a short corner but they were no match for our young defenders, Maisie Sullivan, Daisy Rummery and keeper Emily Braginton who made an effortless save. With Becky Hales to support our young defense, Sullivan demonstrated her strength and confidence as she moved higher into the pitch, using the space to send the play back up to Louth. Despite the efforts from Sutton the back of Louth's net became elusive, despite winning a short corner. Braginton senior and Synott continued to make a nuisance of themselves though and have firmly established themselves in the team. As goal scoring opportunities were narrowly missed the green army ended the first half 1-0 up but with a quiet undertone of frustration. Becky Hales, who had worked tirelessly throughout the game, gave us clarification about our positions and a reminder of the importance of working off the ball. This advice saw many more chances created for Sutton with the second leg of the game played largely in Louth's half of the pitch. With Collingwood- Smith (POM) continuing her gritty play in the middle beginning to link perfectly with Ludlam in the middle, they worked a fabulous 2 on 1 for Heather Ludlum to bag the second goal with a sweeping finish into the back of the net. Sutton relaxed a little and almost let Louth back into the game as they went on an attack and over ran the Sutton defence in a rare lapse. The goal was rightly disallowed and Sutton once again took the initiative. Ludlam and Collingwood Smith were unlucky not to get another, Hoyles missed a beaut of a though ball and Hales was an inch the wrong side of the post but perseverance paid off. The third and final goal for Sutton came from a swift green interception of a Louth free hit. Petty lapped up the ball and found herself one v one with the Louth Keeper. There were still lessons to be learnt from today but it was a fantastic start to the season!