Undefeated so far this season (with only one draw to compliment our string of wins), we arrived at the Staines pitch in high spirits, despite the freezing temperatures and remains of snow on the sidelines. One rapid warm-up later, and we were underway.

The standard was slightly different from the team we had beaten 15-0 the week before. We started slowly, waiting a whole ten minutes before the first goal – Kirstin lifting the ball over the keeper’s stick from a scrappy rebound. Teddy secured our second goal, with some great work from Gigi, before hearts were once again racing as Holloway piled on the pressure in our defending half. Some strong defence from Ash and Celia soon saw them off, allowing Teddy the chance to score our third, grabbing the opportunity after a serious of rebounded attempts in the attacking ‘D’.

The second half started with us fired up, ready to expand our lead; we had to keep moving to avoid the ever colder conditions, and our confidence didn’t wane. Our continued attacks finally bore fruit as Jill, our captain, fired one past the keeper from the top of the ‘D’. Emma and Maria in defence with Jess in goal had a little more to do this half, but Holloway never looked like scoring, and we continued our pressure on their defence. Harry’s work with help from Nora in midfield soon took our fifth goal, shooting the ball past a static defence.

The final whistle couldn’t come soon enough after that, and we piled back into the warm of the mini-bus back to Imperial for a well-deserved drink.

Women’s 1s 5 Royal Holloway 1s 0