Report Author: Naomi Vides

Game: Southampton Women vs Queen Mary’s (Barts)

Score: 8-10

Data: 01/12/2019

It was a cold Sunday afternoon; 10 excited ladies hopped on the minibus and made their way to East London. It took about an hour to drive to London and then another 3 to make it to the depths of Bethnal Green. It was not discovered until later in the day that the minibus had a separate heating system for the passengers, so freezing and running late – the girls arrived at an even colder pool and got playing after a very short warmup. The referee told the subs to stay in the water – that is how cold it was.

The first quarter started with 2 quick goals for Queen Mary who had a strong pit player, but Southampton soon cottoned on and shut it down. Gaining confidence in attack, some strong swimming led to 2 goals by Naomi, 1 by Emma, and one more by Queen Mary, finishing the 1^st quarter 3-3. The seconds quarter saw goals from Naomi, Rhia and Emma, matched by 3 from Queen Mary, leaving us 6-6 at half time, real nail-biting stuff.

Queen Mary were strong, but Southampton were fast. It was coming down to strength vs speed and who would tire first. Unfortunately, Southampton tired first – quarter 3 saw Queen Mary scoring 2 from some quick breaks and letting in none. There was everything to play for in quarter 4. In a rare moment when Char got a brief break from being drowned, she scored a great goal. Queen Mary scored 2 more, leaving the deficit at 3 goals – but we didn’t stop trying with a great cross from Helen on a man up to see Emma score in the last second. Final score 10-8 to Queen Mary (or a draw if we discount quarter 3… ). McDonalds were consumed, and Meg drove us home. Overall a strong performance by all, leaving us hungry for the win next time.

In conclusion – it was cold, things heated up, we still lost.

Special mentions

Char for getting drowned for most of the game, sometimes by more than one Queen Mary’s player

Emma for 3 goals and great swims

Meg for fab goalkeeping and lots of minibus driving

Our 4 freshers, playing their first (Phoebe) or second (Adele, Helen and Abbie) ever games – strong defensive play and showed they know their stuff

Goals:

Emma Critchley – 3

Naomi Vides – 3

Rhia Perks – 1

Charlotte Davis – 1

Majors:

Emily Pearce – 1