England Hockey League

Women’s Conference East

HAVING achieved an excellent win against Ipswich last week, the Chelmsford squad was in confident mood at this potentially difficult away venue. From the very start of the game Chelmsford applied pressure on the St Albans defence and after just two minutes won their first short corner but without scoring. Undeterred, Chelmsford dominated possession and pressed hard into the St Albans D.

In a tight goalmouth scramble, Loren Sherer reacted first and tapped the ball into the net for Chelmsford to open their account and gain the deserved reward for their efforts.

To St Albans’ credit they stayed committed to their game and in their first canter forward scored from a short corner. With less than 10 minutes on the clock the sides were even but Chelmsford took the initiative and with fast and accurate build play again pushed St Albans’ defence back.

In a similar set up to Chelmsford’s first goal, pressure on the defence in the St Albans D allowed the ball to come into Sherer’s possession and another knock in gave the visitors a 2-1 lead.

From a solid stance Chelmsford then upped the pace and stretched the St Albans defence with the effect of creating space for more flowing hockey. A probing through ball found Kat Hales and her bold strike flashed passed the keeper to give a more welcome 3-1 advantage.

A very strong start to the second half by St Albans saw Chelmsford’s defence working hard but excellent play from Hayley Heggie and Rosie Patterson stifled their progress. With Jess Ecott also on great form, Chelmsford created a strong platform for the midfielders to feed the front runners. Beth Wild, Kat Hales and Loren Sherer ran at the front with fine support from Sarah Bolton and Becky Budd. A long run on the left flank and into the D by Sherer resulted in a short corner and Louisa Taylor’s clinical strike gave Chelmsford a 4-1 lead.

St Albans exploited a phase midway through the second half where Chelmsford’s concentration wavered. A short corner and then a neat piece of open play allowed St Albans to pull a goal back through Sarah Cullum and hinted at further goal attempts. Chelmsford regained the dominance and created several attacking runs. Through a sweeping exchange between Kat Hales and Beth Wild, Chelmsford reinstated their goal margin as Wild confidently struck home for a convincing 5-2 win.

Chelmsford’s next game is at home on Sunday, March 20 starting at noon.