It was overcast as Abingdon Ladies 1s travelled down the M40 to Amersham and Chalfont HC, but hopes were high after the promise that the Ladies had shown in the first half of the season.
From the off the Abingdon Ladies challenged the Amersham defence, Anna and Gemma looking strong in the middle, driving the ball forwards and into the D, well supported by Paula and Lisa. Within the opening few
minutes Abingdon narrowly missed a chance and Amersham went on the defensive. However, as the Abingdon side pushed up to put the pressure on the home side, Amersham were able to make some counter attacks, but
these were held off well by the Abingdon backs, led well by Chantel whose sweeping was top class!
Abingdon continued on the offensive, narrowly missing a number of chances, but this only spurred the girls in blue on until a lovely pass to Aimee F in mid-field saw the right open up – she drove the
ball forward with skill, took it all the way into the D, the last Amersham defender came towards her, but Aimee saw Sarah S had made the run on the left, so she made a brilliantly timed pass, giving Sarah
the time on the ball the compose herself and flick it (seemingly effortlessly) over the Keeper and into the back of the net.
The Abingdon side continued to pile on the pressure, but just before half time Amersham managed to sneak in an equalizer from a well executed short corner.
Half time 1-1. Abingdon knew they could win this and came out hard in the second half. The ladies all played brilliantly, everyone fighting hard for the ball, passing well, playing together as a team and really putting Amersham under pressure and forcing the keeper to make some excellent saves. The Abingdon defence worked well together to hold off the challenges in the second half, and Keeper Lesley made some absolutely fantastic saves.
Abingdon pressed hard throughout the second half, never giving up. Unfortunately the ladies were not quite able to score to take the win but certainly deserved to. However, a 1-1 draw against Amersham is an excellent start to the back half of the season and bodes very well indeed for the Ladies 1s.
