BDHC L1 (8) v Kettering L2 (0)
Kettering may not have been at full strength for this one, but that should take nothing away from what was a thoroughly dominant performance from the Dragons after the disappointment of losing their place at the top of table last week.
The Dragons got off to the perfect start, Becky Warters dancing through the house to lay the ball through to Libby Moore who tucked the ball away neatly to open the scoring on just 3 minutes. One often brings 2, and so it proved as this time Florence Dexter did the hard yards, cutting the ball back for Warters to make it 2-0 on just 7 minutes. That set the tone for a steady wave of Bourne Deeping attacks and unlike last week, this time everything seemed to be falling their way. The goalie made a save, it fell to a Dragons stick; a deflection in the D – a Dragon was there to take advantage of the rebound.
You’ve got to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good, and the Dragons were very good as the scoring continued in timely fashion. Twelve minutes in and Moore grabbed her 2nd, reacting quickest to the rebound from a Warters hit, 2 minutes later another scramble in the D and Dexter managed to jab the ball home.
The midfield 3 of Oakley, Murray and Warters were running the engine room, putting in the graft to earn the right to play forwards, constantly supporting the ball carrier, allowing Warters to drive forward at will, and with a healthy 4-0 cushion behind them the back 3 of Geddes, Curtis and Mumby was transferring the ball well, looking to change the direction of attack and set Armitage and Maxey loose in the wide areas while Russo A. lurked with intent upfront!
Warters grabbed her 2nd of the game in the 18th minute before completing a remarkable first half hat-trick just before halftime.
When a team has such a strong half time lead it is easy for them to be complacent, or start to become selfish and start chasing that individual goal rather than simply creating more chances for the team, but that was never going to be an issue with this group of players. Although Russo E. in goal was reduced to the role of spectator for long periods, she was alert despite the freezing conditions and always reliable when called upon, in particular with several penalty corners. The defence stayed solid, (Curtis in particular, quick to snuff out any danger from Kettering’s high centre forward) providing the shape and platform for a midfield who continued to scrap when they had to, and continued to make good decisions going forwards.
This half however their luck deserted them a little. As with last week, now every rebound fell to an opposition stick in the D and was cleared; the goalie was controlling her rebounds, with no more easy tap ins, and although Kettering rarely were able to venture outside of their own half, they were defending far better and giving their ‘keeper a lot more protection. The Dragons probably played better hockey than they had in the first half, primarily because Kettering upped their own game and forced the Dragos to do likewise. Moore completed her hat trick with a lovely finish, beating the ‘keeper at her near post just 10 minutes into the second half, but it remained at 7 until the hour mark when Kiera Maxey tapped home another close range effort from a penalty corner routine. A final score of 8-0 will do wonders for the Dragons’ goal difference, but more pleasing was the attitude and overall quality of the performance.
POTG – Becky Warters