Womens 1st XI vs Harwich & Dovercourt 1

Although the game ended bittersweetly, with Harwich and Dovercourt beating Romford 1-0, both sides fought till the very end. Harwich and Dovercourt immediately demonstrated their years of expertise and game understanding. They breezed through the basics, giving them the erroneous sense that Romford would be a simple win, but that was far from the truth. Romford maintained their cool, taking every tackle, slide, and aerial in stride. Yes, there was an aerial, Nat's first of the season, but it was far from the last. The game was equally contested, with both sides hoping for a goal until the Harwich and Dovercourt forward Sent it soaring into the upper left corner of the goal during a short. The game's opening goal had been a stunner, but this did not deter Romford from wanting the win. The ratio of shots on target to saves was incredible, with our very own Lisa (GK) dismissing a significant number of attempts at goal; she slid, defended, and was unrivalled in her efforts to keep the ball from entering the goal. Romford’s defensive line rallied, putting their bodies on the line to guarantee that another goal was not achievable. Steph made two nail-biting saves, stopping both attempts dead in front of the line. The Mids made many valiant attempts to slow the ball down through channelling, tackling, and, most importantly, controlling their third of the pitch; they were fierce in their actions and NEVER gave up. When it came to moving the ball up the pitch, Romford Forwards had little to work with, a true testament to the persistence of the Harwich and Dovercourt's defensive structure; however, when the Romford forwards did get a stick on the ball, they were unmatched in their attempts to score; in these rare but golden moments, Harwich and Dovercourt's defensive line unravelled, leaving their GK bare. I'll take the 1-0 loss with clenched teeth since both teams gave their best, never easing up on the pressure. Romford put in an excellent team effort, but I'm confident that better games are to come.

MOM Lisa for her unequivocal and fervent efforts in defending her goal.