Womens 1st XI vs Maldon 2

Ladies 1’s faced Maldon 2’s at home on a sunny Saturday. Previous games against Maldon had given mixed results but today there was no doubt who the winning team would be. Romford dominated from the offset and within the first 2 minutes our first field goal was scored by sonata flicking the ball on her reverse, assisted by Ellie after the ball had been accurately passed up the pitch via the midfield. It was a whole (nearly) 5 minutes before the second goal came where Ellie beat the keeper from a short corner after an assist by a calm Loz on the top of the D, shifting the ball to the left allowing Ellie to slap one past the keeper. And then 3 minutes later Kim made it 3-0 after an accurately placed ball from Nat in defence that was picked up by Kim who beat the oppo defence for a one-on-one with the keeper, slotting it in to hit the backboard. Throughout the rest of the second half Romford dominated the game, keeping the play as wide as possible through midfield to allow the forward line to enjoy several more opportunities in the oppo D. A rare few occasions that Maldon managed to break through the midfield, our defence calmly cleared the ball to maintain that ongoing pressure. Half time 3-0. The halftime talk was about managing the game, keeping possession and managing energy levels. Second half started in warrior mode to maintain the pressure on Maldon, the forwards were rewarded with several short corners but unable to convert. Maldon increased the pressure by dominating their play down they’re right hand side and we’re also rewarded with a number of short corners but thanks to some solid kicking by Gk Lisa nothing was converted. The fourth goal came after a period of attacking play, where Loz crossed the ball to Captain Katie, who slapped it into the goal 10 minutes after the second half started, 4-0 Romford. A controversial decision for Romford came further into the second half when a short corner that was converted into a deflected goal, struck by Loz, that beat the keeper but it was overturned by the umpires, would have seen a 5-0 score line. Maldon also increased their pressure on Romford and the second controversial decision was where a penalty flick was awarded to Maldon for the ball hitting a defender preventing a goal (it was a chest save by our GK), however a good decision to move to the right enabled GK Lisa to save the flick and score line remain at 4-0. Overall a good solid performance by Romford, calm play throughout the game and lovely to see the goals shared out between several players.