When you hear you are going to be playing on a teams new pitch everyone gets a bit excited. In our case a bit too excited, with some overzealous sat-naving and a surprise mini-tour of Kent, half of the team became experts in the numerous Maidstone Roads in and around Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells. Although helpful knowledge for pub quizzes across the country, there were moments where we thought that we might be lost in the wilderness of Kent for the foreseeable. So, when the match finally started, it did so with a minor miracle that ten players had made it onto the pitch, and the eleventh was frantically trying to put on their astros.

With a slightly chaotic start, and players jumping straight onto the pitch from their journey in varying stages of car sickness, Marden managed to get a couple of quick goals away before Burnt Ash remembered what the sticks we were holding were meant for. A few short corners were given against us, but with some brilliant defensive play Burnt Ash managed to clear the ball out of the D and away from the goal. With Niamh, Charlotte and Mia across midfield there was barely a stationary player, with the ball passed around and the midfield using all the space they could Burnt Ash managed some shots on goal but couldn’t quite get it passed the keeper.

At half time we were 4-0 down, but as ever everyone went back out with a positive attitude. With instruction from Mia that this half ‘we would get some goals!’, and she was right. With a short corner given in our favour after the ball hit one of the Marden defence on the foot in the D. After a smooth injection there was a shot at goal, and a rebound, Liz got the ball to Alice, who had a shot, and another rebound. Looking like the ball was about to go off the back line just passed the right post, Kate hooked it back on and somehow reverse hit it into the goal (it seems the training session on reverse hitting had paid off after all!). Despite one of the Marden defenders trying to punch the ball back out the goal in a valiant effort to keep a clean sheet, the ball made it across the line, and an ice pack made its way out the first aid kit.
At the end of the match the team were still in high spirits after a nice game of hockey and managing to win the second half.

Ball magnet award – Charlotte Howser
(Wo)man of the match – Mia Cristiano
Goal scorers – Kate Harrington x 1

Note - if you are ever in Kent and trying to locate, ‘the cemetery on the corner’ please ignore all Google Maps suggestions and contact any members of the Ladies 6’s team. They will be able to point you to the correct Maidstone Road.