Henley Ladies 2nds Win Close Match Against Wallingford

Henley 3 Wallingford 2

Henley Ladies 2s had one of their closest matches of the season at the weekend. Still in line for promotion, with every point counting, nerves and adrenaline were running high as the ladies welcomed Wallingford 2s to their home turf. Henley took charge of the game and it wasn’t long before they got on the score sheet after a well-worked short corner saw Kat Green foil the defence with her trademark disguise slap to send the goalie one way as the ball hit the opposite corner.

Wallingford were not without their chances, however, and there was plenty of action in the Henley’s defending quarter. Goalie Hannah Lavis and the defensive backline of Ruth Nutt, Amber Pocock, Kat Green and Karen Walker soaked up the pressure well but then a goal-mouth scramble resulted in the award of a penalty flick to Wallingford, which was converted to level the scores.

The end-to-end game continued, to the point where a counter-attack from Wallingford took them 2-1 up after they stole possession from a Henley short-corner resulting in an overload of players as Henley were unable to retreat fast enough. Not used to being behind, the Henley team looked rattled for the remaining 10 minutes.

After a firm talking to at half-time the Henley team came back for the second 35 minutes with more composure, taking control of the game once more. Despite countless opportunities in the D, time was running out for Henley to change the score. Finally, however, a magnificent solo run from midfielder Caz Shaw saw her drive up the field and into the D, slipping the ball to a waiting Trish Heggie to slot the ball home and equal the scores once more.

This gave the amber and blues the boost they needed and they piled the pressure on even more. This paid off as they were awarded a short-corner in the last minute of the game. Indeed, this resulted in a second short-corner corner following a Wallingford foal. The full-time whistle went but, as the rules of the game state, the short-corner was still to be played. A shot on goal was stopped by a Wallingford foot on the line to result in a penalty flick, keeping the crowd on tenterhooks. A hush descended as Kat Green stepped up to the spot, but celebrations ensued as the ball firmly hit the backboard to secure the team a well-deserved 3 points.

With leaders Phoenix and Ranelagh losing to third place Maidenhead on Saturday, Henley are now only 2 points behind first place, but Maidenhead are still just 2 points behind them and, worryingly, with a game in hand. The remaining league fixtures will therefore be vital if Henley wish to ensure playing in the Trysports Premier 1 league next season, but other league results may have to play in their favour.