Hampstead & Westminster 1 Buckingham 2

On Saturday, despite concerns over storm Dennis, Buckingham’s game in London against second placed Hampstead and Westminster went ahead as scheduled.
Despite having had limited outdoor preparation due the recent weather conditions, the newly crowned Jaffa Super 6’s Indoor National Champions started well. It was towards the end of an even first quarter that Buckingham took the lead. Captain Zoe Shipperley firing an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner, after fifteen minutes to make the score 1-0.
The second was a very even and hotly contested midfield affair with chances at a premium for both sides.
Buckingham started the third quarter poorly, unable to put any phases of passing as the home sides stepped up the pressure. However, against the run of play it was the visitors who extended their lead after forty-four minutes. A swift counter attack and some fine play in the D from both Katrina Nicholson and Abbie Brant resulted in Lottie Porter scoring at the far post. Hampstead and Westminster continued to dominate for the remainder of the quarter and Buckingham were thankful to Player of the Match Ella Jackson in goal for retaining their two-goal cushion with two very fine saves.
The final quarter followed much the same pattern as the third with the home side dominating both possession and territory. Despite this dominance, Buckingham defended their D very well to deny Hampstead & Westminster many clear cut scoring opportunities. They did however manage to reduce the deficit with six minutes remaining. This led to a tense final few minutes but Buckingham held on to record a very important away win that keeps them four points clear in fourth place.

“It was a pretty untidy game which was not totally unexpected given the disruption of both the weather and indoor to preparations, as well as the fact both sides last league game was early December. I thought we played pretty well in the first half but really struggled to handle the ball or put any passes together in the second half, which put us under immense pressure. Given that, we have a fair amount to work on this week, before our double header on the weekend. However, I was delighted with how we defended our D and with how clinical we were with our opportunities when they came”.