2s beat Hawks 2s in pre season friendly

The 2nd XI travelled away to Oxford Hawks to play their first and only friendly before the league season starts. It was impossible to neglect the challenge this fixture represented given the Hawks 2s play two leagues above us. Nonetheless, the team were keen to kick off in style. Fluent passing and patient play meant Buckingham took control from the outset. Several denied opportunities courtesy of some solid Hawks defending did not rattle the team. Eventually some determined play from Buckingham Ford Player of the Match Emily Protheroe saw us maintain possession on the base line, within the D, for a quick slip to Kirsty Freshwater to put Buckingham 1-0 up. Whilst unexpected, this was a brilliant settler. Play continued with keeper Becks Ball making some essential saves to keep Buckingham ahead. Solid passing from all players kept play in Buckingham's favour and a foul in the attacking D saw Hawks penalised with a slightly controversial penalty flick. Sophie Tuckett stepped up to take the flick and took the score to 2-0 just before the half time break.
Fully expecting the efforts of the first half to take their toll, Buckingham knew they had a lot of work to do to keep this strong Hawks side at bay but fluent passing was maintained. Great positional play from Protheroe enabled some great links with captain Andrea Freshwater but unfortunately our goal scoring opportunities were denied. The final score remained 2-0 but this was a fantastic start for the 2014-15 season. The team are looking forward to welcoming Wycombe 2s on 20th September to start their season in Trysports Prem 1.
Special mention must go to the two mother - daughter combinations we had in the team; Andrea and Kirsty Freshwater and Helen and Georgie Holme.