Beeston 2 Buckingham 1

In Nottingham on Saturday, Buckingham suffered their first loss of the season to Beeston.
In what was a scrappy affair Buckingham started poorly, with too may basic errors making it very difficult for the side to retain the ball or build any phases of play. With the home side also unable to put many coherent phases together, the game became a midfield battle with very few clear cut chances for either side.
With five minutes to go to half time, it was the home side who took the lead when a costly double turnover and a couple of unfortunate bounces of the ball resulted in the ball being fired in from close range.
Buckingham regrouped at half time and created a fantastic chance in the opening minute but the home goalkeeper was alert to the danger. Unfortunately for Buckingham, in the forty-second minute another sloppy piece of play led to the home side extending their lead, again from close range. Player of the match Zoe Shipperley came close to reducing the deficit from a penalty corner shortly afterwards but the Beeston goalkeeper was again equal to the task. Buckingham continued to push hard for the remainder of the game but their lack of fluency continued to make the task more difficult. With just over five minutes remaining, Buckingham withdrew their goalkeeper in favour of an additional outfield player and were rewarded almost immediately as Kitty Higgins made it 2-1 from close range. Despite constant pressure and a couple of openings in the dying minutes, Buckingham could not find a way through and Beeston held on to take all three points.

"Saturday's loss was frustrating and disappointing in equal measure but ultimately, we did not play well enough and to give Beeston credit, they made life very difficult for us a took their opportunities well when they came. We struggled to get any rhythm or momentum going forward as we constantly turned the ball over, which meant we just could not build any pressure or maintain any field position. Whilst it is a set back, we will not dwell on it and will be working hard in the week to ensure we are prepared for what will be a really tough game on Sunday, against last years table toppers Holcombe."