This week we have match reports from the M3 and L3.
LTHC Men’s 3rd XI 2 vs Leicester Westleigh 1st XI 0
Midlands Men’s Division 5 East
On a cold and windy late afternoon start Loughborough Town men’s 2s hosted Leicester Westleigh 1s looking for their third win of the season.
Winning the coin toss, Town elected to take the ball from the start. It was a great start from Town as they managed to put Westleigh under pressure for the first ten minutes of the game. With patience Town kept hold of the ball, passing it around, though they didn’t have any clear-cut chances to take the lead.
As the game progressed Westleigh got into the game as Town decided to stop playing the hockey they had started playing. This led to the away side having a lot of possession in Town’s half though like Town Westleigh couldn’t make their chances count. The first ended 0-0.
As the second half progressed both sides created chances, though it was Town that eventually found the back of the goal with Nathan Holifield getting his third goal of the season.
An unfortunate injury to a Westleigh player left the away side with ten players for the majority of the second half. However, Town didn’t take full advantage as they should have as Westleigh defended well, and even caused Town problems in attack. Town eventually did make the extra man count when Ollie Bartlett scored his first of the season.
Whilst Town will take the win and the three points, they are still searching for that seventy-minute performance which would lead to more points and them climbing up into the middle of the table.
Next week Town play their last game before the mid-season break against Panthers (Leicester) who are fourth, so it will be a tough game.
LTHC Ladies’ 3rd XI 12 vs Towcester 4th XI 0
Midlands Women’s Division 4 Nene / Charnwood
The Ladies’ 3s have an early start for this week’s game with a 10:30 start against Towcester 4s. Town already had an inkling they could win the game as Towcester 4s are second from bottom of the league. Plus, with high availability in the ladies’ section, the 3s were boosted with a number of 2s players. Unfortunately, two players from Towcester 4s had to isolate last minute so they were playing two players down.
Town had a good start to the game and were 2-0 up in the first two minutes. From then on till half time Town had most of the possession and it barely came into their 25. As Town were 6-0 up at half-time, they decided to spice things up a bit and completely switch their positions for the second half. So, forwards playing in defence and vice versa as they thought it would be a good time to practice playing out of position.
For the second half the swap of positions clearly didn’t go too badly as Town ended up scoring another six goals. Leaving the final score at 12-0. The goals were spread evenly across the team with Sarah Etherington, Izzy Muir and Meike Schuringa all scoring one each, Annabelle Page, Tabby Cockerill and Fionnhuala Davies scoring two and a hat-trick for Hana Rasheed. Overall, it was an enjoyable game and a great win!
Next week Town travel away to 4th placed Northampton Saints in their last game before the Christmas break.