UKC Women’s Hockey Out of the Goal Fast
Image courtesy of ukcwomenshockey | Instagram
What a fantastic start to the second half of the hockey season for University of Kent (UKC) Women’s Hockey. Last Wednesday, 21st January 2020 saw Women’s 1’s beat Royal Veterinary College (RVC) 1-0, and the Women’s 3’s with a 5-2 victory over Kings College 7’s.
When asked about the attitude going into the match, Women’s 1’s Captain, Caitlin Merison, told InQuire: “the last time we played RVC we beat them 3-2. We didn't want to become complacent as they are a very good side”. The tension rose as Rebecca Ellis, Vice-Captain also mentioned that they felt nervous and a pressure to perform since it was their first match back after Christmas.
Even though at the beginning of the match at the first whistle it was a “bit disorganised and panicked,” the dynamic of the match towards the end of the first half and throughout was consistent.
Merison commented: “we worked well as a unit to build play up the pitch and were pretty solid in defence when counter attacks emerged”.
A standout moment for the Women’s 1’s was the continuity of play and not letting the morale drop. A lot of pressure in the first half came from RVC with a number of short corners, but UKC reacted and managed to convert a short corner of their own. Ellis highlighted how “it was nice to see the forwards playing with more confidence as well as our midfield fresher, Emily B-E who is beginning to show her true capabilities.”
Finishing the match on a high, UKC won with a close match of 1-0. Lily Jaques and Emily Bromley-Ellis were joint Man of the Match, Emily for her drive in the middle, and Lily for her positive tackling.
After a heated match from the 1st team, UKC Women’s 3’s were cautious not to feel complacent stepping out on the pitch after previously beating Kings College 8-2.
Captain, Millie Sorrell said they went in with confidence. She continued, “having just come back from Christmas we were a bit apprehensive as to what our fitness levels would be like and considering we only had 11 players, the game could have gone either way.”
Although Kings College obtained two goals due to breaks, UKC’S transitions from the midfield to forwards enabled the Women’s 3’s to create goal opportunities and fight back. UKC's 3s were dominant from half time as they found their feet.
With a goal at the end of the first half, captain Sorrell felt confident in her team: “not only did it put us a goal up going into the second half but it was a result of a really nice set of passes leading to a clean goal.”
Battling through the tough match, the 3s finished on a brilliant 5-2 victory. With the excellent goal at the end of the first half, Man of the Match went to Prudence Chikaka.
Image courtesy of ukcwomenshockey | Instagram
The Women’s 1’s and 3’s both confess to more work needed on composure and confronting the apprehensiveness before the game, but it is fair to say UKC Women’s Hockey are determined to be on form from that first whistle.
