It was a Chicken dinner on a Sunday for Lewes 3's

Sunday lunchtime worship at the altar of hockey for the Lewes lovelies, which is unusual but was great to get a game of hockey in before the feast of over-indulging begins…. Having had the rescheduled, rearranged, rescheduled, rearranged Priory game conceded it had felt like a looong time since our last appearance on any hallowed turf.

It was a full squad, with a new face in Emily Kirby-Jones – who acquitted herself beautifully with some great running and positional awareness that meant she slotted into the front line like she had always belonged. Up front it was also fabulous to have Ms Hutchinson back – who celebrated the return with a brace of goals in the second half. These were crucial, with Maddie securing us the win that was very much deserved.

First crossing of the white line was for us as Sara Riley finished off a gorgeous move and some lovely interplay, with a well-taken strike. When Sara found space through the middle, she did her usual great work and ball movement, but that centre channel was an exceptionally busy place for the majority of the first half and so kept the usually irrepressible Riley quieter than is her want. There was some fine play from the opposition’s centre-mid, in particular, who showcased some great skills and demonstrated her ranking. The home team retaliated literally on the stroke of half-time, capitalising on the defenders (mostly yours truly) confusion after a penalty corner strike that had very narrowly missed Naomi Blackwell’s head, whose lightning quick reactions saw her both move and deflect the ball. As that had been a high return, I had wrongly assumed that it would have been dangerous play, but alas I was wrong and play continued resulting in their more experienced striker poaching the ball and ultimately the goal.

Half-time gave the greens a chance to regroup – Caroline Petty had been strategically rolling the substitutions throughout the first half and offered some pearls of wisdom, added to by the many years of experience that we delight in across the 3’s squad.
The defensive line was the only non-changing element throughout the game, with Naomi Blackwell playing out of position on the right flank – and doing a lovely job of it, linking up with Goldie brilliantly and running some gorgeous supporting lines. In the centre was Lizzie Mounter, who did a magnificent job of silencing the aforementioned danger player, opposition centre-mid, in the second half. This came at a cost, though as it meant that the centre channel became even more crowded with even less space for Sara in particular to operate in. Also meant that when the game turned, if the opposition got through that congestion, they had a lot of space and time to work with, which led to few squeaky bum moments. Although the indomitable Freya Colvin kept her goal and her cool magnificently – as always. This steadfastness deservedly garnering her a handful of votes for Player’s player, as usual.

This week’s Trevor care-keeper, and unicorn mane wearer goes to our lovely Left Back – Lucy Nuttall. Who showed her usual composure in defence, with some brilliant tackles and marking. In addition, it was splendid to see her pushing up in the pitch and adding some additional impetus to the attack – linking up beautifully with Nina Blackwell-Rayan who was showcasing her usual silky skills - there were some real champagne hockey moments when everything clicked. Also, Lucy deserved the Player’s player accolade for the way in which she dealt with some questionable behaviour from her opposite player – with the politest put-down I think I will ever hear on a hockey pitch. Well-done on all counts Lucy.

The brace of goals from Maddie was actually a sandwich with a mid-Sussex goal in the middle of it, with another of the more advanced players delivering their second goal – nutmegging our defence in the process. The Lewesian goals came as a result of lots of continued pressure from across the pitch, although especial mention to Sophia Roberts and Gabi Shaw who both showed their class and grit.

It was a great finish to 2023, and a run of results that sees us shifting up the table to 4th position – well done to all for the commitment and hard work to get us there. Enjoy the break my gorgeous ones – we have a v tough game to kick off 2024 though so look forward to seeing your beautiful chops back on the green green astro of home on the 13th January v Brighton & Hove 5’s – if not at training on the 2nd January.

Today’s player player – Lucy Nuttall
Bench-Controller – Caroline Petty