Southend and Benfleet 1s – 10 (Kirsty Edmunds 7, Sarah Conway 1, Kendal Colman 1, Ashley Colman 1)
Harlow 1s – 2

This week saw the return leg for Southend and Benfleet 1s to host Harlow 1s at The King Edmund School on a cold and dreary Saturday afternoon. Whilst the weather was dull the game certainly wasn’t, both teams were passing brilliantly and play pinged from one end of the pitch to the other, but soon Sarah Conway would smash home the first goal of the match for S&B. It wasn’t long after this though that the visitors would fight back and a quick turn and a strike at S&B’s goal would see them draw level. It was a fast paced game and Captain Kirsty Edmunds was in the thick of it, weaving through the sticks of the Harlow defence before smashing the ball into the back of the goal to take the score to 2-1. In response Harlow would pressure the S&B defence and be awarded a short corner, which culminated in Harlow tapping the ball in off the post to draw level once again. S&B upped their game and play was focused very much in the Harlow defensive half after this, with only the occasional wayward hit breaching S&B’s midfield to be snapped up by S&B defenders Jodie Linge and Rachel Jeffery to be sent straight back up the pitch for S&B to have numerous attempts at pulling ahead again, a feat that was accomplished when Kendal Colman charged the D and powered the ball past the goalie. Edmunds would extend S&B’s lead to 4-2 by finding the back of the goal once more just before half time.

The restart saw S&B keep the pressure on the visitors for the majority of the second half: Chloe Harris and Caitlin Meredith were driving the ball forward and their accurate passing into the D gave S&B copious amount of attempts on goal in the second half. After a scramble in Harlow’s defensive D S&B were awarded a penalty flick when the ball hit a Harlow foot on the line. Captain Edmunds stepped up and effortlessly flicked it passed the goalie starting off the scoring for the second half. It wasn’t long before Edmunds claimed another goal from as her strike ricocheted of a Harlow stick and into the goal taking the score to 6-2. Ashlie Colman would join her sister on the scoreboard this week with a powerful strike from a short corner hitting the backboard after soaring past the goalie and several defenders. And after a further charge from Edmunds finishing with her own smashing strike the score was 8-2. The pressure never let up with central midfielder Nicola Bryant taking charge at long corners to feed the ball into the D, with Ellen Taylor and Natasha Cheeseman pushing up the pitch to keep the wings locked down tight so no balls came close to the S&B half. Edmunds wasn’t content with the 5 goals she already had in the bag, so when she took on the Harlow goalie and the goalie went to the ground to stop a strike, Edmunds calmly chipped the ball over her and into the back of the goal; but it didn’t stop there as soon after Edmunds would slip the ball into the corner of the goal from the top of the D for the 7th and final goal of game. And for all her goals, effort and leadership throughout the game, Kirsty Edmunds was crowned player of the match; with the final score reading S&B 10, Harlow 2.

The win, plus the fact that Upminster lost to Maldon, sees them go top of the Essex Premier league, with a goal difference of 15 and a game in hand. There are still five games to go, so all to play for. They host Wapping 3s on Saturday.

PHOTO: Tina Meredith