The first half kicked off with a high-octane start and Bristol Bees quickly took two shots on goal which were brilliantly saved by Wendy. This turned out to be just a warm-up for the Devs goalkeeper, but gave the Devs a breather and the next few minutes were dominated by our attackers. Nim’s shoe decided it wanted some attention and flew off her foot, which didn’t faze her and she got her first shot on target that was saved by the Beekeeper. A short corner for the Devs was sadly thwarted by the many Bees in the box. The Bees tried to counter but were held back, first by a foul throw-in and then by a free kick after an enthusiastic tackler took Emma down. 
A shot by Hannah was saved by the Beekeeper, and a strong counter led to a shot off-target by the Bees. Then a bit of a struggle followed in the Dev’s half with some throw-ins and fight for control. A corner for the Bees was eventually cleared and the Devs made a great counter-attack. However this did not last and Wendy made two more great saves in a row. Up the other end, the Devs won another corner, taken long that was almost booted in by Emma. The ball made its way down the pitch again and Wendy made another amazing save by using her foot to stop it from going in at the back post. Another save off the line, this time by Nim from a ground tackle, ends up in a nice bleeding knee. Wendy rounded off half time with another save and the Bees were buzzing with frustration.
Much of the first few minutes of the second half took place in the Dev’s half, with some good work between Wendy and Dee despite the many throw-ins and attacks from the Bees. After another sensational save from Wendy, Dee got some action in the Bee’s half and put a great throw-in into the Bee’s box which was cleared, but only as far as Asia who won another throw-in. The Bees tried their luck with Wendy again, but she wasn’t having it and saved another attempt on goal. After a corner, the Bees unfortunately got a goal after an extremely scrappy altercation in the box. 1-0 to the Bees.
A battle of the throw-ins commenced with Dee and the Bees’ defence taking turns to lobbing it into each-others halves. After another save by Wendy, Zartasha took the ball and ran up the pitch, but it didn’t quite reach its destination, and a counter by the Bees put Wendy in action again. This time Zartasha’s shot at goal up the other end led to a Devs corner. The Bees’ defending won out, but the Beekeeper sent the ball zooming right down the pitch with no-one touching it, giving Wendy a nice easy goal kick. Tired Bees made lots of sub changes and Asia made some great throws into the Bees box. 
The last minutes were dominated by the Devs. A great tackle from Dee led to great passing between the attackers but a shot from Emma went wide. Asia got more throw-in practice and Nim upped the pace, running all over trying to get a last-minute goal, including a shot from distance that sadly went wide but gave the Devs another corner. A counter by the Bees came hard and fast but they couldn’t get past Wendy, who dived to save another goal. A corner from the Bees didn’t get anywhere, and after a throw-in by Asia, the attackers make their way up the pitch, but a ball to Rebecca went too long. The Devs threw everything they had at it – literally as Asia got lots more throw-ins – but the game ended 1-0 to the Bees.
Although the rain Gods smiled down on us and only rained before and after the match, the Gods of scrappy goals smiled down harder on the Bees that day. But much swearing from their captain probably meant we had more fun.
Much-deserved POTM went to Wendy for her epic saves.
Written by: Emma Atkins
