Venue: Culm Valley Leisure Centre
Final Score: Chard Ladies 1s 5–0 Culm Valley Hornets 2

With the sun finally making an appearance – a rare treat for a Saturday morning – top-of-the-league Chard Ladies 1s made the trip to Culm Valley Leisure Centre to face Culm Valley Hornets 2.

The Hornets came out buzzing and executed their game plan to perfection, man-marking Chard throughout and making it difficult for the league leaders to play their usual free-flowing hockey. They certainly tried to take the sting out of Chard’s attack early on.

However, it didn’t take long for Chard to break through the swarm. In just the 5th minute, Kerryn delivered a pinpoint cross into the D where Lauren timed her run to perfection, coolly slotting the ball home to open the scoring.

Chard doubled their lead in the 11th minute. Amy whipped in a dangerous cross which found Kez, who made no mistake in pushing the ball into the corner to give the visitors a 2–0 advantage.

Play was briefly paused in the 12th minute following a collision between Ruby and a Hornets player, which unfortunately resulted in a nosebleed and a suspected broken nose for the opposition. After a break in play and the pitch being cleaned, the match resumed, with both sides taking a few minutes to settle back into their rhythm.

Chard then extended their lead from a well-worked short corner routine. The ball fell to Lois, who struck it beautifully into the goal – leaving the Hornets defence swatting at thin air.

The second half continued in much the same fashion, with Culm Valley continuing to buzz around and mark tightly, determined not to let Chard run riot.

Just three minutes into the half, Chard struck again. A lovely pass from Lauren found Char in space, and she produced a confident finish to make it 4–0.

Chard’s fifth and final goal came towards the end of the match following another excellent passage of play. Char pushed the ball perfectly into space for Amy, who delivered a superb cross to the left post where Kez was waiting to deflect home. It was a real sting in the tail for the Hornets.

The final whistle blew with the score at 5–0, a strong performance against a well-drilled and hard-working Culm Valley side who never stopped battling.

Player of the Match: Lauren – influential throughout and clinical in front of goal.
Dick of the Day: Ruby – for potentially giving the Hornets more than just a sting to remember!

A dominant display from Chard, who remain firmly top of the league – and proved that even when the opposition swarm, they can still rise above the buzz. ?