Ladies 1s Match reports

Today the Ladies 1’s played away against Blackheath, with a few players missing we had to shimmy the team around a bit which ended up working very well - winning 4-0 (which should have been at least 6-0!) 🎉💜 

The first half started with a wonderful run from Tash from the first push back where she took on all of Blackheath and scored in the first few minutes. We then stayed consistent keeping the pressure with great runs and hockey from everyone. Not long after another goal came from an assist from Tash to Maisie who slot it into goal. We continued to hold them with more chances on goal. Maisie and Tash seemed to be having a hit the post competition, with a good few near misses 🤣 Luckily Nat then managed to convert a short and found the backboard, taking us to half time with a 3-0 lead. 

After what seemed an incredibly long half time we started the second dominating. Unfortunately an early goal was disallowed with the decision confusing us all as we had celebrated and were making our way back to the half way line. We continued to battle with a very attacking half and with even more posts being hit and another goal disallowed! Charlotte, Meg, Tash, Mini, Emma and Amy worked through the middle with some beautiful passes, Lacky, Laura and Mika kept any moments of panic at bay with as always the reliable Herbie stopping their two moments on goal from producing anything. We continued to work hard with balls sent to Maisie and Nat who kept getting to the perfect positions and kept Blackheath on their toes. After a good few short corners we ended our goals with our 4th and final goal controlled from a rebound and slapped into the goal from Meg. 

An excellent team performance and technically a 6-0 win 😉

Player went to Mini for taking on a new position and smashing it , special to Nat for having a slip’n’slide moment on the side of pitch and Champagne went to Tash for taking on the entire Blackheath team from push back and scoring unfortunately a disallowed goal. 

Very well played by everyone and a well deserved win taking us back to top of the league 🍾.

Ladies 1s Match Report 

Anchorians Ladies 1s were against Edenbridge today, with the hope of scoring a win. The first half started off 50/50, with a mix of possession from both anchs and Edenbridge. Our strong line of defence of Mika, Learna, Lacky and Inners, held Edenbridge obey. Unfortunately for the team, Edenbridge went 1-0 up. Anchs continued to play some lovely hockey, whilst Herbie had some excellent saves to keep us at 1-0 into half time. 

The second half started positively with strong attacks from Megs, Mini, Emma, Laura and myself. However Edenbridge managed to slip another one past making it 2-0. After an incident which may or may not have been caused by myself, play continued with lots of possession from Anchs which resulted in a short corner. A one-two between myself and Tash, meant we managed to claw one goal back. Anchs continued to put lots of pressure on their defence with both Tash, Nat and Charlotte working hard upfront. The game resulted in a 2-1 loss, however everyone worked hard and we will smash it next week. Thank you to our lovely umpire, and Strangles for helping the unfortunate opposition player, we wish her well. 

Player went to Jess and Charlotte 

Special to Tash 

Champagne to Tash 

Ladies 1s match report 

The ladies 1s made the away trip to Canterbury expecting a tough game. Anchs started well in the first half with the midfield of Tash, Mini, Meg and Emma stringing passes together and pressuring the Canterbury defence. Laura supported from the back and picked up head injury no 1. Unfortunately Canterbury got a break against the run of play and scored a one on one. Anchs persistence eventually paid off with a cheeky flick finish from Nat after a free hit outside the D (if that's wrong Nat correct me, twas a bit hard to see from back here but I'm assured it was fabulous!).

The second half started as the first had finished with both teams making chances. Anchs defended hard with a champagne moment short corner goal line clearance from Sarah Lack (bonus points for taking out the forward too). Laura managed to acquire head injury no 2 while defending our D and the mids worked tirelessly up and down the pitch with new player Beth providing support.

Canterbury managed to grab a winner less than 5 minutes from the end. A quickly taken sideline exploited tiring Anchs legs resulting in another one on one with a clinical finish from the Canterbury forward.

The game finished 2 - 1 but Anchs fought to the end with the extra 3 subs on the Canterbury side making the difference. Herbie got player for a number of scrappy saves in the D and Nat special for attempting to reduce Canterbury's numbers by inflicting head injury no 3 to one of the Canterbury defence. She then accidentally added the wrong white seasoning to her chips at teas... Thanks also to Gareth for hanging around after his game to time subs and not sub Laura off. We go again next week at home ready to bounce back after giving our all this week in probably the friendliest game involving the most head injuries we've played.

Ladies 1s Match Report 🏑💥

We came out firing from the first whistle, blowing the Christmas cobwebs well and truly away. Pink shoes tried to dominate early doors, but each and every one of us had her firmly in our pocket — our own little puppet.

The breakthrough came as we went 1–0 up, thanks to a lovely team goal. A quick ball from Mini just outside the D found Nat, who pinged it off her stick, onto the inside of the post and into the back of the net. Clinical 👌

We stayed all over Knole Park and were rewarded with an upgraded short corner after some excellent work from our lovely Tash — a tackle that probably deserved a card for the girls in blue. We opted for a straight strike, and Lacky absolutely rocketed the ball into the backboard, giving Knole Park no time to even process what had happened. 2–0.

We went into half-time strong and confident, with pink boots still safely tucked away in our pockets 😉

The second half started much the same, with plenty of chances created, but unfortunately no further goals to show for our efforts. The Ladies 1s held their own throughout, staying composed and solid at the back.

Tash did pick up a green card from a badly timed tackle — although a very harsh decision from the umpire if you ask us 😅.

Full-time whistle blew with a 2–0 win secured!

🏆 Player of the Match: Learna

✨ Special Player: Meghan, for trying to start the game without her stick 

🍾 Champagne Moment: Nat’s classy opener

Well done girls — still 3 points clear at the top of the league! 💪💙

💡 Cold Hands Hockey Hack! 💡

Struggling with frozen fingers on the pitch? Research centrifugal force — courtesy of Tash, who taught us something game-changing. Simply swing your arms round in big circles and let science do its thing… the blood flows straight back to your hands 🙌❄️➡️🔥

Cold hands = solved. You can thank Tash later 😉

Today the Ladies 1s played Gravesend at home, we started brightly pressing high and keeping consistent. We won many short corners and even a flick but their strong defence and good goalie meant that none hit the back of the net. 

We had amazing passing and good communication throughout the game, keeping ourselves very calm with only a few breaks from Gravesend. Gravesend didn’t win any short corners, which won our Champagne moment for the game because of the amazing work from our defence. 

Overall many positives throughout the game, some great passes down the wings from Mini and Mel, some excellent defending and sooo many times we pressed them so well they couldn’t get through. Shame there were no goals but everyone worked incredibly hard, ending the game 0-0. 

Player was awarded to Mini for her effort through the middle and special was Meg for her very loud naughty words to the other team. 

And we go undefeated into the new year ! Well done girls 💜

Written by Mini xx

Ladies 1s travelled to Brom Becs on a cold rainy Saturday. After some confusion to where the pitch and toilets were we were not giving much warm up time. But that didn’t stop us, we started strong with some great play from all the girls. Unfortunately BB took the lead from a short which Sarah Price initially saved which they then converted. This didn’t stop us if anything it fuelled us to work harder and not long after Tash Stevens deflected a champagne worthy goal assisted by Amy Shave who hit a wonderful strike into the D. 

Second half started 1-1, with some better spread play through the middle, using the wings and passing back more comfortably. We dominated for the majority with multiple shorts being won but their quick defender was not letting us score. Finally after winning another short our second goal from Learna Smith who sunk it into the back of the D! We carried on with the same intensity and some wonderful play from all of us which shows in the 6 votes for player of the match. However Megan Doutch’s constant battling, determination and skill secured her a well deserved player of the match. We then cemented our win with the final and second champagne worthy goal (because she didn’t get taken out by the keeper) from Tash, who calmly took it around the keeper and tapped it into the goal. 

Special also went to Mini for being taken out by the keeper and her rock paper scissors with Laura Skillen to see who was pushing out for the short. 

Well done girls, still undefeated let’s keep going! Onto next week where we are finally back at home 💜💪🏼

The ladies 1s fought through the traffic to arrive at the 'wonderful' facilities at T Wells. The ladies warmed up in the cold and rain before embarking on a game that at periods was end to end.

During the first half we soaked up a fair bit of pressure which saw Mika save a shot off the line. After tireless runs from the midfield, we were rewarded with a couple of short corners both of which were converted by Jess. Anchs went into half time 2-0 up. 

The second half continued in the same way as the first with a lot of 'end to end' running. 

After a crazy run into the attacking 25 and D by Inners (yes you heard that right), her shot at goal was saved, the rebound shot followed up by Nat was also saved before Mini's shot at the left post finally went in.

T Wells continued to push hard in the second half, finally securing a short corner and a goal! 

The ladies, not happy at conceding a goal, worked hard to play the ball out from the back. In fact we are so used to knowing where each other that Lacky passed the ball to Inners when she was too busy trying to breathe and wasn't there!  

After some lovely attacking play, Nat's shot in the top left hand corner was saved on the line by a T Well's defender - it was most definitely the champagne moment of the game!

As we approached the final minutes of the game Tash's run into the D saw her convert with a shot which 'bobbled' it's way through to make the final score 4-1 to Anchs. 

This week's player of the week was Inners, special went to Maisie "where's your gum shield?" Parker and this week's champagne moment was given to the oppositions defender for her amazing clearance off the line! 

Match report from Inners, who actually has no recall of what happens in a game! 🤣

Ladies 1s hosted Sevenoaks with the aim of reclaiming top of the table! The first half stayed very equal, with chances from both sides. Anchs had most of the possession but unfortunately a short corner went wrong and ended with a penalty flick against us. Taking us 0-1 at half time.

The second half saw us dominate and play some beautiful hockey. A drive and wonderfully timed pass to Emma from the sideline into the D from Amy Shave saw Anchs equalise. We continued to press, with wonderful hockey from everyone, especially Megan Doutch who won herself player for her amazing efforts in the middle. Towards the end of the half Amy made a pass into the D, Natalie Summerhayes took a shot which was saved but that wasn’t stopping her, she picked up the rebound and slotted it into the back of the goal. Despite this being the winning goal, she earned herself champagne for her amazing celebration. The sheer happiness and surprise was hilarious, her high five to Emma even made Emma’s hand sore! With two minutes to spare Meghan Anne got carded for a questionable tackle and not being 5 earning second place special (hence the photo, Mika had to shoot off so she escaped the hat!) . I’ll wait for my disciplinary meeting Trevor Shave 😅 Mika Scott Earnt special for her interesting “elbows” 😳👀!!!

Another win for the ladies 1s to reclaim top of the table spot!

Well done ladies. Thank you to Paul Conroy and Richard Pethick for umpiring and as usual our supporters 💜

Ladies 1s travelled to Clifftonville for a top of the table battle at the disgusting time of 4pm with our bare 11 and 1 arriving literally at pushback.

We started strong, with some beautiful play from EVERYONE. The intensity didn’t drop on the fancy water pitch. The first half saw a few short corners which just did not convert, some great runs up and down the wing and middle and some solid defending from the back. A champagne worthy moment from Sarah Price saw her save a strike with her stick. This kept us at 0-0 at half time.

The end to end action continued into the second half with Clifftonville beginning to do some questionable tackles which Emma, Mika Scott, Amy Shave and Laura Skillen got the brunt of. With a few more short corners and more attacking play saw the ladies almost take the win. Unfortunately we didn’t quite get there.

The game ended 0-0! An absolutely great game one that even the umpires commented on stating it to be the “best ladies hockey they’ve seen this season!” Special mention to Sarah Lack for earning player for her tireless work in defence, special went to Mika for being a little ‘close’ to the oppo and obviously champagne to Herbie for her outrageous save! Important to mention that many people were voted player showing what a solid performance it was.

Well done girls absolutely smashed it, we will definitely take a draw and at home we’ll get that win! 💪🏼💜

Ladies 1s hosted K Sports today and what a team performance it was! From the first whistle we dominated and took control. Within a few minutes we won a short corner from a strong run up the left wing by Amy Shave who drove into the D and put it on their foot. The goal game from a strike from Sarah Lack to Laura Skillen who put an almost champagne moment touch on the ball which sent it beautifully into the back of the net so beautiful that a lot of us just stopped and watched ! We continued to hold our own and dominate with some wonderful work through the middle from Megan Doutch, Jessica Gray, Amy and Laura. Jess did not stop running and continued to outskill the opposition which deservedly won player of the match. She also secured the second goal with a lovely assist from Natalie Summerhayes ! Defence worked extremely hard and were able to push up the pitch higher than usual, a few times Alexandra Bunting was very close to the oppos D!! Alice, Mika Scott, Sarah Webb , Alex and Lacky were the continuous support at the back stopping any of K Sport getting through to Herbie. Special mention to Sarah Price for keeping a clean sheet and when the moment did come smashing any real threat away!

Second half started with the same intensity, the third goal came from myself and earnt me Champagne moment of the game! A perfect cross from Jess saw me run and get the last touch into the goal. Everyone continued to work hard a few more chances came from Maisie and Nat and continuous hard work from our middle and defence saw our fourth and final goal from Maisie (who I can’t tag for some reason) ! A well timed run saw Maisie make the perfect touch to put us way in the lead!

Another incredible team performance ! Well done girls.

Thanks to Richard Pethick and Joel Divers for umpiring and as always our very loyal supporters 💜

Ladies 1s travelled to Old Wills hosted by some familiar faces. The first half saw many many MANY chances which we just couldn’t convert to a goal, decisions just not going our way but still some beautiful hockey from the girls. After a series of short corners which were defended well by Old Wills we went into half time at 0-0. 

The second half saw Anchs come back fighting but about 10 mins in we began to loose our heads a little, this didn’t last long and with true grit and determination we saw through the frustration and came out the other side. WE and I mean EVERYONE on the pitch fought right until the end, special mention to Mika Scott for gaining player for her endless runs and patience with the battles she faced from the oppo. Finally with about 5/10 mins to spare we got a goal. From a short corner which actually went a little bit wrong which Laura Skillen even apologised for 😅 (but ended being a lovely assist) but still got to Sarah Lack who slot it into the back of the goal. Gaining herself champagne moment of the day. The most deserved and needed goal of the season! 

We kept our heads right until the final whistle, which at times was hard to do! 

Incredibly proud of the team performance. Not only the hockey that we played but also the friendship and collaboration! A game we thought would be a little easier than it was but still one which we can be super proud of. We also managed to share a few laughs - mainly at my expense which gained Meg special. This was for many reasons from her weird team talk, messing up a drill in the warm up, trying to sub off during a short corner and for literally standing still completely missing the ball going past her because she was in awe of one of Laura’s touches on the ball. 

Ladies 1s hosted Blackheath at home and the game began with very strong, steady passes and great stamina! The first goal scored within the first 10 minutes came with a CHAMPAGNE moment by Laura 🍾 This was won through the many short corners we won with one one finally working to our advantage, Laura’s baseball hit smashed into the goal. 

The second goal came soon after, Emma travelled along the base line, passed to Mini who then hit it straight in to the backboard with a bang 💥 

Second half saw the play spread through the width of the pitch with everyone putting in 100%! Laura came through and scored again with another short corner goal 🥅 

Our third goal was from Mika with a strong slap into the D and deflected off Blackheath’s keeper. Meghan who performed a funky dance move soon after, just missed another opportunity on goal and almost earnt herself special if it wasn’t for Emma’s weird and wonderful questions to Herbie! 

Player went to Emma who worked tirelessly in midfield, special also went to Emma who had a fascination with Herbie’s holes 😳 Our Champagne moment went to Laura for the cricket/baseball/tennis smack into the goal! 

Another 4-0 win for the ladies 1s with some really beautiful hockey planed ✨

Ladies 1s travelled to Edenbridge to play a side we haven't met in years, and the sun, wind and rain all joined us for a solid Anchs display.

The first half saw falling trees (watch out for T-rex coming meghan 👀), Emma stepping off the bench and firing in our first with just her second touch, Meg losing an eye, Nat taking a 🎯 to the knee, and just the one short corner to challenge Herbie in goal.

We dominated in the second too, with our second coming from a ball in from Laura which maisie knocked home from close range, a great solo effort from Learna with a reverse shot taking a deflection for our third, and the final touch of the game being a short corner breakdown and Nat claiming our fourth.

It wasn't just our goals that sealed the win - a potm performance from Inners and a peach of a pass from lacky from the backline through to Nat at the top end of the pitch earned a joint champagne moment (with another shout out to Emma's 🚀).

A big thanks to Ann for travelling with us to umpire, and a great 4-0 win for the girls!

Ladies 1s hosted Canterbury today. We knew this would be a tough one as Canterbury came down a league with us. We were up for the challenge from the beginning. The start saw us have a shot on goal which we unfortunately didn’t convert, Canterbury then gained the lead from a well taken flick. Sarah Price almost got a touch but it wasn’t to be! Surprisingly enough we then won our own flick which unfortunately didn’t go in. This took us 0-1 at half time.

After a good team talk and regroup we came on strong. The start of the second half was relatively equal but then we dug deep and began getting the upper hand. We had a lot of short corners, one resulting in an absolute champagne moment goal from Natalie Summerhayes, Sarah Lack slipped left to Megan Doutch who took a shot and Nat picked up the rebound and hit it home, tricking the goalie and sending her to the ground for the ball to go over her!

We kept on fighting and had a few more chances on goal. The game ended 1-1!! A great result and an excellent team performance.

Player went to Lacky and Mika Scott for their relentless battling, special went to Maisie (for her orange comments 😅 and Nat for her wonderful bouncy celebration and champagne moment also went to Nat for the unreal goal !

Thanks to Keith Hopkins and Andy for umpiring !

Well done girls an amazing team performance 💜

Ladies 1s made the trip to Orpington to play Knole Park in their opening gambit of the season. With big changes at KP over the summer we genuinely had no idea what we would be facing.

It turns out we had absolutely no reason to be worried. From their pushback, we won a short corner and a fantastic back post cross saw Laura force a great save from the keeper but she wasn’t going to be beaten twice, lifting the ball over her on the second attempt putting us 1-0 up within two minutes of the start.

Knole Park eventually made the most of a short corner, their best player to dribbling into goal.

Anchs weren’t having it though, after a great switch, Amy had the ball in acres of space on the right and drove it half the pitch before smashing it home with a little help from a defensive deflection.

Anchs 2-1 up at half time, and feeling very positive.

Second half saw A’s step on the gas, the third goal came from another great drive from Amy, before she slipped to Tash on the P-spot, who made no mistake slotting home.

Goal four was a big shot from Nat, which Maisie impressively controlled high, before calmly rolling past the KP keeper.

So much of A’s positive play came from excellent defensive work all over the pitch. The forwards and midfielders won the ball high so many times. The opposition’s strongest player had no room or time to play. The only time they slipped past the defence, Herbie came flying out to make an incredible tackle. They did manage to convert their only short of the second half, but only because of a wicked deflection.

Anchs weren’t done though, and in the dying seconds, Nat’s shot was too strong for the keeper and as it trickled through her legs, Charlotte came in to see it home.

A thoroughly deserved 5-2 win for the ladies 1s, five different scorers and an incredible team performance. Player went to Laura, but Amy came in second with fantastic work down the right. Special was shared between the Megs as one forgot her shirt and the other did a little horse trot off the pitch when she got cramp.

Anchs 3-2 Burnt Ash

Anchs Ladies 1s played a friendly today against a Burnt Ash team who will be playing a league above next season. The first half Anchs were clearly still finding their footing as the visitors overwhelmed them a number of times and took the lead after a shot from the edge of the D took a vicious deflection past Herbie.

There were flashes of what we were capable of, as Anchs looked dangerous every time they were in the D and won a string of short corners, including one cleared well off the line.

Ash were the deserving leaders at half time, but Anchs were starting to knock at the door. A good half time talk saw us determined to play more of our own hockey although there was a bump in the road very early in the second period when the visitors converted a (slightly harsh) P-flick.

But the Anchs girls pushed back hard and, using the wings more, working hard off the ball and switching play quicker and better, they were a threat every time they went forward.

The first Anchs goal came from a broken down short, when Meg picked a clearance up outside the area, dribbled in and slotted just inside the right post. The second goal hit the backboard in almost exactly the same spot when Emma smashed home a straight strike on her debut.

The Burnt Ash attack started to lose some of its sting as they found it harder to get out their own area and with a couple of injuries to defenders, the Anchs back line did well to hold them out and some last ditch tackles were well needed.

The comeback was completed when a free hit on the half way line was taken quickly and played right to Jess making a beautiful run into space. Her first shot was blocked by the keeper, but she took the rebound round her and lifted into the far side of the goal.

Final score 3-2 against a team now a league above us. Great fight to come from behind to steal the win. Lots to work on but lots to feel positive about too.

Thanks to Richard for umpiring, Keith for nearly umpiring and the fantastic support we had on the sideline!