Miners Mourn Medic Defeat

On Wednesday 14 November, ICSM Ladies’ 2s faced off with the RSM 1s at their Osterley home ground. The afternoon was glorious: the sun overhead and no-leggings-necessary heat a stark contrast from the last time these two teams met back in March, an event that will long stay in the memory of both teams for the truly dire conditions, including sub zero temperatures and a torrential downpour that started on the third minute and prevailed until the end of the match. With that encounter having finished in a draw, both RSM and Medics were keen to make this game worth their while.

Pre-match anxiety was particularly rife amongst the Medics this week as it emerged that the team’s goalie had been unable to make it for this game. Stepping up to the task with no prior experience of ever having played in goal is always a big ask so the team are particularly grateful to Maria Koo who did just that, and made a spectacular job of it whilst she was at it. Just as Maria was kitting up in her attractive outfit, the RSM opponent strolled onto the pitch and it became instantly evident that the Medics were outnumbered, with RSM boasting 3 subs to Medics’ 0. At this point, ISCM captain Becky Ayres called the team together for a motivational pep talk, and with just enough time to issue a ‘Go Medics!’ the game was off.

For both teams, the match took off with an unsteady and more than slightly halting start. Whether it was the nerves or the fact that the aforementioned sun now emerged to be a mixed blessing and was blinding the entire right side of the pitch (sparing neither ICSM attack nor RSM defence), it took a good 10 or so minutes for both teams to pull themselves together and turn on the gas. Rapidly, the game turned to the Medics’ favour as despite several good RSM attempts to move the ball into midfield, play ultimately revolved in the RSM goal half and increasingly their defending D. Becky Ayres, usually sweeper, had bravely taken the place of the absent Centre Midfielder and was playing superbly in this position: her confident and precise hits coupled with never before witnessed speedy pitch-length runs proving to be a challenge for even the sturdiest of Miner defenders. Of note too was Kylie Beale, recently promoted from defence herself to the rather different role of Centre Forward. Her dodging prowess and ability to push the ball up alone a good 50m proved invaluable and ultimately landed her a shot at goal, only to be narrowly missed as the ball came off the right post with a disappointing ring.

Yoshi Anderson did a terrific job as Left Forward with Rosie Wilson (Left Mid) who was able to consistently resist RSM pressure and together they would frequently confuse the opposition by bringing the ball up the far left flank. Crucially Yoshi also helped coordinate the Medic press, ensuring that most Miner shots taken from their D were fruitless. On the occasion that RSM were able to get the ball out of their defending half, typically thanks to the spectacular sweeps of Gemma the ball was usually stopped by the unfailing stick of Krishna Shah who would swiftly send the ball back to the Medics’ attacking D. To give them their due, RSM were doing a very good job of intercepting many of these balls, and it fell to Right Mid Rebecca Featherston (token physicist on the Medic team) to win it back for ICSM with some impressive tackles, particularly so because she is relatively new to the sport. With both teams doing their fair share of running around and becoming increasingly breathless as the game went on, ICSM players completed the first half with a remarkable series of passes culminating in Margot Pikovsky (right forward) having a shot at goal. Always one to mess around a little – hockey IS a spectator sport – Margot first insisted on hitting the ball straight at the goalie a couple of times (to be met by an angry foot) before aiming it at the actual goal and being rewarded by the satisfying ‘thwock’ as it bounced off the back board just as the umpire blew the whistle for half time. Needless to say, Margot did not celebrate by running up the pitch immaturely jumping and shouting ‘Yay yay yay’.

Half time talks over and with ICSM up a point, RSM took to the pitch evidently determined to salvage the game. With possession between the teams now more or less equal, there was a dramatic improvement in both RSM and Medic play. ICSM defence in particular were forced to up their game, a challenge which they eagerly rose to. Amy Lam and Fiona Field, both newbies to the team this year, played masterfully and made some spectacular saves each. So well did they play in fact that both almost tied for honour of Most Valuable Player, with Amy crowned by only a few votes. No less critical to the back line was Kate Richmond, filling in for Becky Ayres as Sweeper, though by the amount the two were running and the strength of their play it was difficult to tell which of the two was playing Centre Mid.

Another 35 minutes of relentless defence from the two teams, and despite a great effort from the Miners, they were unable to make a mark on the scoreboard. Final result 1:0 to the Medics then, with fantastic play from both teams (I think it’s fair to say that every single person on the pitch got at least a good run out of the session) and a very well deserved win for ICSM. The Medics look forward to playing RSM again later this season, but for now: what more appropriate way to celebrate a victory then ICSM RAG Centurion later that evening?