The day came for the 4’s first away match at Bath Spa aka in the middle of nowhere.
The day started with trekking 2 hours with 2 buses and lots of traffic to the Bath Spa ground, which turned out to be a half-sized pitch at the back of an accommodation. Not to mention it was giving us Coombe vibes with it being on a massive slant.
But with spirits high we were ready to start the match. However, those spirits were brought straight back down to earth when the torrential rain and hail hit us just as we kicked off. Without coach Annabel to steer us in the right direction, captain Bea was managing from the sideline whilst nursing a leg injury from falling down the stairs on her night out before (rookie error). From kick-off we were dominant, with Lola on the right wing making some great runs from balls from Harriet. Within 10 minutes we had our first goal from Mona, assisted by Lola, who banged it into the bottom left corner.
1-0 up we had even more of a pep in our step, and chances were made by Elizabeth, Chloe and Jemima N. Spa managed to have some possession in the second half of the first half, with a few consecutive corners. These were defended with class by Rosie, Kamilla and Jemima R. Alice at left back left no chances to their striker with some amazing tackles, and one not so amazing (aim at the ball not the legs babe). Spa had a close range shot on target from a corner, but brick wall keeper Hannah had it sorted, so calm and poised. Just as half time approached, Harriet lifted the ball from just outside the box so perfectly it looped over the keeper and into the back of the net. The half time whistle blew as we were celebrating.
Second half we finally had the hill to our advantage, and we used this to its full extent. Ishba made an exciting run down the left side, taking it all the way from halfway to the goal but keeper saved it (this time). Yuchan and Georgia in midfield were making sure the ball didn’t even reach our defenders, who were keeping a strong back line. Runs down the right wing were happening every few minutes, and we were all in awe of Lola’s stamina and skill, absolutely rinsing their defense. She chipped one in from near the corner flag and Ishba was on the goal line for a tap in, 3-0!! Emilia had the biggest battle with who she called tracksuit girl, getting put into basically a headlock every time she tried to tackle her. Their ref decided to not call them up on any of these dodgy tackles, and thought it was be fair to also coach them from the pitch? Needless to say players on the pitch weren’t happy with this, and as Rosie questioned this their coach told her to ‘give them a break they're a new team’. Maybe we should use that excuse next match...
The rest of the game was ours, everything clicked and we were really working hard and well together. Could have had 2 or 3 more goals with amazing chances made by Harriet, Elizabeth and Lola, which is why Lola was named POTM.
Full time 3-0. Ready to beat them again at home December 4th!
Written by: Bea Kirkham (4s captain)
