First home game of the season, and S&B were feeling ready to go. A full squad meant that we had many subbing options and so everyone knew they could give 100%. Harwich came out strong though, with S&B having to do a lot of defending in the first 5 minutes and Harwich putting on all the pressure. A quick break from S&B though saw Caitlin Meredith running the line and slipping the ball into the D, where a shot was saved by a defender’s foot on the line and a penalty stroke was given. Naomi Barker stepped up and calmly slotted the ball into the goal, 1-0 to S&B slightly against the run of play, giving us confidence to attack. S&B kept the pressure on, earning many short corners which were dealt with by the Harwich defence. Just before half time, in open play, a strike from Naomi Barker was saved by the keeper, and player of the match Hollie Wakeman got onto the end of the rebound and slotted it in past the keeper. 2-0 at half time and S&B were feeling confident.

The second half saw brilliant passing play, with Caitlin Gardiner and Chloe Syvrett on the wings linking well through Adele Cole, Rachel Jeffery and Nic Bryant in the middle of the park. Some brilliant runs by forwards Lily Cole and Hollie Wakeman meant more short corners were awarded, with Naomi Barker using her infamous powerful strike to score 2 more goals. A fourth for Naomi came from open play, before she added a 5th to her tally from a short corner just before the full time whistle. A dominant performance from the 1’s, and confidence going into next week’s game.

Player of the Match: Hollie Wakeman