As the glorious spring sunshine shone down, the BDHC Ladies 1s headed away to face Long Sutton 1s.

With first pushback, the Dragons were immediately showing their powerful prowess with magnificent midfielders Emma Cowell, Libby Moore, Carol Murray, Liz Nunn and Norah Brill skilfully passing and offloading the ball around Long Sutton. This oppressive force left the home team scrambling to try and get possession, but formidable forwards Keira Maxey, Jenny Williams and Alessia Russo were soon to weave through and try to put their stamp on the game.

However, Long Sutton managed to keep the thirsty Dragons at bay and, taking possession, made their own offensive attempts down the other end. Yet, the home team seemed unable to pierce through the diligent defence of Alice Brookes, Katie Petherbridge, Isia Jasińska and goalie Eliana Russo.

Maintaining the majority of possession and applying constant pressure on Long Sutton, the Dragons were fighting to be rewarded for their hard work. Earning themselves various short corners gave the away team time to set up the game in their favour but Long Sutton kept themselves in the game, clearing the ball away.

The first half of gameplay remained predominantly in the hands of the Dragons, with some breaks for Long Sutton. Carol Murray stepped up the top of the D, making it past Long Sutton defence and smashing the ball into the goal. At the end of the first half, the Dragons had pulled ahead; 1-0.

With the sun on their backs, the Dragons were ready for Long Sutton’s retaliation. Straight out of the gate, Long Sutton has upped their intensity and made a move to bring the game up to equal pegging. Nevertheless, the Dragons were ready and stepped up to rebuff as goalie, Eliana Russo slid to intervene and swipe the ball away from any danger. Taking back possession, the home team advanced and took the game back up the pitch to mirror and reciprocate Long Sutton’s offensive attempts.

The half time break had fired up Long Sutton and they were out with a vengeance. Their previous frustrations and flared tempers seemed to trigger something in their gameplay and embolden their offensive opportunities. Earning themselves a short corner, the home team smashed a ball at goal and hit the backboard. Long Sutton were back in the game, 1-1.

Back on equal footing, the Dragons had taken back the offensive possession of the game. Solid passing and proactive, forward thinking gave the visiting team the upper hand and a multitude of close calls on goal.

The Dragons were challenging Long Sutton until the very last second and their hard work was rewarded with one last short corner. As the final whistle blew, tension prickled the air as the Dragons surrounded the D. A slick injection gave the ball to Katie Petherbridge who struck the ball at the target, deflecting off the keeper and into the goal. Alas, this victory was short lived as, unfortunately for the Dragons, the umpires had other ideas and disallowed the goal.

This pivotal decision saw the end to the game, leaving the Dragons robbed of their glory and deflated to end the game on such controversy. Regardless, the game remained tied at 1-1 but the thunderous hard work was not undone and the Dragons had a stormer of a game.