Potters Bar 2nd XI Vs Luton 3rd XI

Saturday 27th February 2010

Potters Bar hosted a home game against Luton 3’s this Saturday on a very wet and windy pitch. With 2 key players missing this week's match, Bar were not left wanting as they found themselves playing against 9 players as Luton failed to field a full team. Bar knew this advantage could not only earn an important win but give the potential to gain an abundance of goals. This optimism was seeping throughout the team, knowing that the nail biting goal difference displayed on the league table was slim with Bar proudly sitting at the top.

Luton had first push back, and it was not long before Bar gained possession and kept it, with the majority of the play within the home team's attacking half. Lotti Pickup on the right drove the ball forward in a flurry of consecutive attacks, soon placed a cross to the left post where the team's top scorer Chris Field found herself comfortably tap the ball in past the keeper. Bar’s attack repeated itself and Field added another to her tally by doing the same minutes later, making the score line 2-0 to Bar.

The bombardment of offensive moves continued and a short corner was won, where Pickup stopped the injection and confidently smacked the ball against the back board.

Bar were starting to enjoy themselves and Pickup too when she dribbled the ball passed a defender in the D and whacked the ball towards goal which deflected of a Luton stick and found their net. Pickup adding 2 to her current goal scoring trend, and making the score line 4-0 to Bar.

Bar’s handy sub Katy Francis stepped up and took over Fields’ role in left wing and gathered another mighty cross that she craftily put around the keeper and rolled it over the goal line. It was not long before captain Esther Strous used her top trump from an earned short corner where she thumped the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal.

The 1st half ended 6-0 to Bar, and started the second half hoping to maximise their opportunity to happily keep the ball up in attack. However, despite Bar keeper Glenys Chiswell seeming to spectate the game, she had to save at least one attempt from a Luton fast break when Bar were dozing.

A collection of short corners and long corners were won by Bar, which again meant most of the team remained in Luton’s half. Nonetheless, Bar seemed frustrated in places with Luton’s defence fighting hard to keep Bar’s sticks at bay. Despite this, vice Sarah Withers used her pace on the right to drive the ball in from a long corner and slice the ball into goal.

A constant flow of passing attacks up the left, with full back Charlotte Sayers stepping up to give width and using a hungry Claire Pollit to take the ball up, and made it easy for Shelley Farmer to place a pass in front of Lucy Saye who gained the 8th goal. Then another attack came when Ally Capron pushed the ball onto Farmer’s stick where she finally earned the opportunity to cleanly whack the ball into the left corner, creating the 9th and final goal of the match, with the final score at 9-0 to Bar.

This fine performance left skipper Strous gleaming at full time as Bar gained another 4 points and the hope in winning the last 3 remaining matches, with the prospect of promotion quite promising.

Lady of the match: Lotti Pickup

Goal scorers: Chris Field x 2, Lotti Pickup x 2, Katy Francis, Esther Strous, Sarah Withers, Lucy Saye, Shelley Farmer

Team: Glenys Chiswell (GK), Esther Strous (Captain), Sarah Withers (Vice), Shelley Farmer, Chris Field, Katy Francis, Charlotte Sayers, Michelle Lewis, Charlotte Pickup, Ally Capron, Nicola Holland, Clair Pollit, Gronia Morley