Hearts ❤️ won 45-40 over Stratford Ladies!
It started as a neck and neck game with Hearts and Stratford keeping their centres well. Hearts had welcomed back Shannon Hall for her first game after returning from Australia! She had a quick warm up in WA but then was thrown right in the mix as C! It really was as if she’d never been away!
Throughout the game we had short bursts of great play with strong, fast, short passes into the circle which Jodie used well to get closer to the post! Kate in WA was using the pockets effectively to get depth on the centre pass! We would take a lead against Stratford but then they would come fighting back with a tight defence and even back out.
In the third quarter, Pippa made use of tactical plays which worked well! An uplifting 4th quarter talk and we refocused. Katia had too many 2-handed interceptions to count! Defence were stronger than ever and we had about 6 goals in a row and felt like we had finally found our stride! Edie had kept the pressure on well and forced errors but a tumble meant Sophie Smithers stepped in at WD to help keep the lead!
A strong end to a tense game left spirits feeling high! A massive thank you to Sophie for staying till the end and stepping onto court in an unfamiliar position, we couldn’t have maintained the lead at the end without you!
Well done Jodie for player!! ❤️
Written by Lauren – Captain
