LSHC Ladies First v Cambridge City 4ths (AT MARCH)

Played Home on 2nd November 2019
Next Match
2nd Nov 2019 Ladies 2nd - Away vs Horncastle 2nds

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Connie Gittins profile

Position:
Outfield
Appearances:
19
Goals:
16

Sutton stepped into the 2nd of 3 matches against lower teams knowing a win was required again and Captain Bland expected nothing less. With the 2's match off, Long Sutton had a squad of 14 with everyone available. However, a couple of illnesses and injuries meant we weren't quite all 100% match fit. Sutton welcomed back Gemma Parr to the side, and she added both her vocal and hockey skills to the game. From the off Long Sutton, playing at their adopted home in March, tried to settle and push hard however Cambs City presented a style which was new to the Sutton players. They forward marked and were quick around the pitch which meant that the opening 15 minutes were a bit scrappy at times with our Ladies being hurried and pressed hard. However, the defensive unit were all playing well, and nothing really got though to Lorraine Wallis in goal. The wide midfielders of Jo Bland, Katie Collingwood Smith, Jemima Dodd and Hannah Baker all found great space and we successfully spread the game to both sidelines. This gave more space to Emmy Gittins and Gemma Parr in the middle to get the ball forward for the runs of Connie Gittins and Amber Jones. 23m penetration was good again however the goal bound shot was proving elusive. Sutton knew it would come and continued to drive Cambs City back into their own half. With just under 3 minutes left, Katie Collingwood-Smith won the ball wide on the left and played the ball along the side-line to Amber Jones. She worked her way quickly into the D before playing the ball back to Jo Bland. Unselfishly, she laid the ball off to Connie Gittins who slapped the ball into the roof of the net. Just rewards for the first half endeavor of all 14 players. With backwind in the second half, the game should have been sown up earlier than it was, but the Cambs City midfield were breaking up much of the play. They couldn't turn this into their own chances at the other end and Wallis was a spectator for much of the game. Cambs forced a couple of short corners but they came to nothing. With the ball being so wide and quickly, the game stretched open in the last 10 minutes and, as in the first half, this created holes through the middle. The 2nd goal came with just under 4 minutes left when Gemma Parr played the ball from the edge of D to Connie Gittins just inside our half. She beat her marker and had a clear run through on goal, with the Cambs City players chasing her. She entered the D, waited for the keeper to commit herself and then lifted the ball into the right-hand side of the goal. It was a cracking goal and showed a calmness about her play. Both goals came from the training pitch on Wednesday night. Coach Evans will be justifiably proud of his charges. Overall, the commitment to training and playing form the whole squad paid handsome dividends today. Not necessarily in the score-line but the way they all played. Every one of the ladies gave there all on the pitch and played intelligent hockey. The confidence of their play is coming through and will lead to more points picked up in the second half of the season than the first. 7 games in and sitting in 6th position only 3 points off 2nd place is a good achievement this year. Pushing on from here for the remaining 4 weeks before the Christmas break could see another rise up the table. Another game against lower opposition next week sees another trip to Cambridge to play the University side at Wilberforce road, push back is 11.30.