2 minutes of chaos…

Ladies 1s travelled to Old Georgians for a chilly Saturday game. Ipswich in the unknown territory again having not met OGs at National League level.

Both teams got off to a good start creating strong forward opportunities. Ipswich built well from defense and midfield; moving the ball around, creating 2v1s and when a gap opened up rewarding the forwards further up the pitch. POTM and the ever hard worker and determined Emma Rix, being everywhere and complementing her teammates to make those balls up to the forwards. Ipswich pressed hard and aggressive forcing the OGs to work harder for their opportunities.
Second quarter brought more end to end hockey. Although OG had more chances with their circle entries, Ipswich remained strong and held well. A few re-awarded penalty corners that Ipswich were able to deny but an upgraded whistle gave OGs a stroke against GK Ali Barham. Solid as a rock, a save in that high pressure situation kept a scoreless draw going into half time.

At some point during the third quarter, OGs found a messy goal to take the lead. Ipswich all of a sudden found themselves 3-0 down. Unable to fathom the 2 minutes of pure chaos, Ipswich struggled to get back on track. Errors became frequent, communications between players became quiet and basics started to unravel. The 4th quarter saw 2 more goals for the opposition which hit some Ipswich players hard when the final whistle was blown.
Of course a very strong stat for the Ladies 1s this week. It goes to Ali Barham, for saving her first penalty stroke in years!! Proving she's still got it.

A tough reflection on personal and team performance to address the cracks and iron out the finer margins. Ultimately that is what will make the team better. Going into the final week before the Christmas break, Ipswich are at home against Horsham; whom they met first game of the season and came away with their first and only win so far… can they reproduce that win and take the 3 points.