U18 Girls 11's Vs Bury St Edmunds

Under 18s Girls, Saint Neots vs. Bury St Edmunds, 8th March 2020

It was a game of two halves in St Neots Under 18s girls’ final match of the season, home to Bury St Edmunds.

Saints started well, with a series of crisp passes taking the ball into Bury’s D. The home team kept the pressure up,

with speedster forward Anna Price winning the first short corner of the game, which achingly went wide. Yet within a

minute another short corner saw Saints denied an early lead by a fantastic save from the excellent at-full-stretch Bury keeper.

And then it was Bury’s turn to attack. Several Saints players showed their mettle in defence, first Milly Payne breaking up a

growing midfield threat, then Rosie Bettsworth just keeping the ball out of Saints’ goal. This was the cue for a twenty-

minute spell of fast, attacking hockey from an excellent Bury squad. They were just one step closer to the ball each time, and

Saints had to soak up some great pressure. A darting run from a sub, who pelted on from the sidelines to go deep into Saints’

territory, was snuffed out by a determined Sophie Faulkner, but in the end the first goal became an inevitability. No one was

quite sure how it was scored, but Bury went one up, and minutes later the best run of the day saw another Bury player beat

the field, getting in behind Saints to send a thunderbolt back-stick into the top of the net. Bury’s purple patch finished with a

short corner, which saw a beautiful strike put them 3–0 up at the break. Not a fair reflection of the half, but certainly

deserved for a thrilling quarter of attacking hockey. However, the final minutes saw Saints attacking hard. It was a sign of

things to come.

Early in the second half Summer Payne and Chloe Cundick linked up to force a short corner. Then another Bury

foray was dealt with by Rosie, who sent Anna off on another scorching run, which ended with Summer Payne finding the back

of the net. Bury, it seemed, were starting to lose their fizz, and Saints had very much found theirs. Another run from Summer

earnt another short corner, which was only (miraculously) just kept out. Undeterred, the young striker went again, and again

won the short corner, which again was somehow defended, even though at times it seemed the net was bracing itself for the

final blow. Two chances in two minutes, but Saints wanted more. For the rest of the half – actually, for all of it – the

momentum was with the home side, with attacks forming from all over the park. Rosie linked with her sister Ellie

Bettsworth from deep to send the ball into the Bury D once more to win an inevitable short corner. And as with most of them

that afternoon, the striking was accurate and fast, but just not quite enough to fox the Bury keeper. The crowd was now

roaring – from both sides – as the sense of urgency and possibility echoed about the ground. In the end, it was Charlie

Churms, back from a year’s injury (courtesy of a lesser sport), who had the last word. A delicate chip finally bamboozled the

opposition keeper. It felt as though there was time for one more, and certainly five more minutes would have seen a deserved

draw, but sadly the whistle went, as it always must, ending a fantastic match of hockey and Saints’ hopes. Final score: 3–2.

But no one watching that match, or anyone who has watched some of these girls play for the last five or ten years,

could have felt anything but pride in their team. The attitude was positive throughout and the hockey at times delightful.

While the win was deserved for Bury, for taking their chances in that one excellent quarter, the club can only look on this

short, weather-interrupted, injury-riddled season and feel content. There is strength and depth in a squad made up of some

excellent hockey players, every one of whom played some brilliant hockey. And if the last fifty minutes of the match are

anything to go by, the future for these players, and their club, is very bright indeed.