University of East London women’s hockey team suffered a 3-0 defeat against King’s College London 5th on home turf at the Lee Valley Tennis and Hockey Centre in their last game of 2018.
Going into the game, the Blue’s sat on three points in the BUCS South Eastern 4B league, with King’s College behind on one point.
Just one week after their 4-0 loss in a Cup match against University College London 5th, the East London team were more determined than ever to gain a crucial point in their last game of the year.
Steady Opening
UEL started off well with the Blues piling the pressure onto King’s College defence, with a couple of shots on target, however, none of the shots fell through into the goal of the Central London side. King’s College also made inroads into UEL’s defence as they attempted to gain an early lead.
Both teams made blunders, with King’s College producing foot fouls, leading to a free hit awarded to UEL, while UEL sent some shots too wide, leading to King’s College gaining advantage of the ball.
Despite a penalty corner awarded to King’s College, UEL’s defence, as well as UEL goalkeeper, Jordan, were able to fend off King’s College, denying them of an early advantage. However, things turned sour for the Blues after a swift tap-in by King’s College took the score up to 1-0.
Ill-Fated End
With the first half ending in King’s College’s favour, UEL women’s hockey captain, Laura Pakenham gave the team a motivational speech, as well as valuable advice which included ‘not gravitating towards the opposition with the ball’, and instead ‘marking the player they’re most likely going to pass to’.
Chants from the sidelines from UEL students, as well as players from the UEL men’s hockey team, gave the Blues an added boost of encouragement going into the second half.
Although UEL battled hard to stop King’s College increasing their lead, luck was not on the side of East Londoners as the ball rolled over UEL’s goal line as they tried desperately to knock it back, taking King’s College’s lead up to 2-0.
A late goal took the score to 3-0, enabling King’s College to clinch their first win of the 2018/19 season in the BUCS South Eastern 4B league.
At the end of the match, UEL kept with tradition by voting for ‘Woman of the Match, with fullback, Cerys Gravell coming out on top for her effective defensive tactics which deprived King’s College of adding to their score.
What’s next?
Despite a disappointing end to the year, UEL remain optimistic for the future and will continue to train every Monday as they look to further develop their skills for upcoming matches.
The Blues will next face University of Greenwich in mid-January on home turf.
With the University of Greenwich sitting comfortably with 12 points at the top of the BUCS South Eastern 4B league, the East Londoners will likely take advantage of the added training by working on tactics, as well as practicing as a team.
