Womens 3 Vs Haverhill 2

The cold and blustery weather saw St Neots Ladies 3s back to winning form, at home against Haverhill 1 in East Division 4NW, with a 2-1 win.

The Saints are easing themselves into their new team formation, and played with a lot more confidence than the previous few weeks. Hannah Thompson opened the scoring for the home team 15 minutes in, after a tussle in the Haverhill defensive D resulted in the ball swinging back out to the edge and Hannah making a strong slap at the goal that snuck past the goalie’s left side.

Haverhill struck back and pushed the St Neots defence of Andrea Pybus, Rosy Sabatino and Katie Davidson-Smith, with goalie Tara Bell making some superb saves that drew the appreciation of the watching crowd. The visitors benefited from a penalty flick decision for them, despite queries from the Saints, and despite Tara’s best efforts, Haverhill drew level just before half time.

The second half saw better hockey from both teams, with Poppy Presland, Claire Cooper, Ella Roberts and Katy Lloyd dominating the midfield and working the ball up to fast runner Kirsty Clarke and Becky Roberts for numerous shots on the Haverhill goal. Haverhill did not give up and there were some heart-stopping moments for the Saints defence as they battled to control the visitor’s attack, with some superb hockey from Andrea Pybus.

The breakthrough came from centre midfielder Katy Lloyd. Her solo run from the centre line, through half a dozen Haverhill players, confidence increasing with the crowd’s support and every winning spin around a visitor, ended with success and a goal from a strike from the top of the D, earning her joint player of the match with goalie Tara Bell. Haverhill immediately struck back and spent the final 10 minutes throwing everything at the home team, but St Neots held out and came away 2-1 winners.