Ladies 3 vs Petersfield 1

In a fractious game played at Amery Hill School, Alton Ladies 3s snatched victory from a so far undefeated Petersfield. 

The game was played at a fast pace throughout with the visitors putting pressure on Alton every time they received the ball. Cool heads in the midfield allowed Alton to gain control and after the first quarter, Ross was able to carry into the opposition circle. From the ensuing scramble, Dennison had a strike, elegantly deflected in by Chobbah. Petersfield then took the fight to Alton, but only managed to break free of a well disciplined defence once and were efficiently repelled by Blanchard in spite of the overload. Unable to convert their penalty corners, Petersfield had to contend with repeated forays from Wilcox and White and the first half finished 1-0.

As expected, both teams came out hard for the second half and the pace did not diminish. Milner doggedly defended her corner, breaking over the half way line and releasing up to Craig and Willets who kept the visitors’ defence busy, whilst Ryan was able to channel the attack on her side. After some end to end runs, with Footit showing her strength and pace, Petersfield started to gain control and won a series of penalty corners. GK Jinadasa was able to clear a number of shots, but the final penalty corner was scored.  

The final quarter saw captain Ross galvanise the team and with a tenacious Wallace and the midfield pushing high, the visitors were once again under pressure. A frenetic scramble in the circle resulted in Wright winning a penalty corner as the final whistle was blown. A deftly played shot allowed Wright to convert the corner to a goal and a delighted Alton were able to finally relax. 

Player of the Match went to Craig on her L3s debut – tenacious play and tireless running that made a big difference in the game.