It was a disappointing day for the Women’s Hockey Blues, who travelled to Kent for a fixture against fellow mid-table team Holcombe. Over the last few weeks the blues have struggled to convert promising performances into results, and with league restructures meaning that up to seven teams will be relegated from the EHL East Premier Division, the team were acutely aware of the need to start winning points.

The game was played in subzero temperatures and it was Holcombe who were quickest off the mark. A cheap turnover of possession combined with a flashy display of skill from the home team forward allowed her to dribble past several Cambridge defenders and finish neatly in the top right hand corner. A second followed minutes later, catching Cambridge napping to put the score at 2-0 with ten minutes played.

The Blues rallied, with strong tackles from half-backs Clare Parrish and Anna Wilson allowing Cambridge to thread together some attacks. When a ball from the midfield was flicked onto a Holcombe foot in the D, Cambridge won a penalty corner. Becca Naylor’s strike was well-saved, and the clearance found its way to a Holcombe midfielder, whose pass onwards split the Cambridge defence, allowing the striker to score on the break to put the Blues 3-0 behind at fifteen minutes.

The rest of the first half saw increased dynamism from the shocked Cambridge side, with skilful attacking play by Abi Gibb and Georgie Kilbourn resulting in several penalty corners which the blues were unable to convert. Susie Stott and Alex Maskell linked up well, with Maskell’s shot beating the keeper only to rebound agonisingly off the cross-bar. However, as the half-time whistle blew it was Holcombe who were convincingly dominating play.

Coach Chris Marriot’s half-time talk helped the team to focus on the task in hand, and Cambridge went back to the field with the belief that a result was possible. The next ten minutes saw a return to the fluent, confident play which the blues have aspired to all season. A long ball out of midfield was chased down by Maskell, who drove around the baseline, slipping past two players to place an inspired pass across the Holcombe goal, which Stott made no mistake in finishing at the back post. Captain Mel Addy made some crucial tackles, and the Cambridge press was working much better. Great work-rate by Izzy Smith and the rest of the forward line placed increasing pressure on Holcombe possession, forcing errors which eventually led to a Cambridge short corner. Charlie Banfield slipped the ball to Stott, who placed a killer finish into the bottom corner for her second goal, to make the score 3-2.

There was plenty of time left for the Blues to push towards victory, but regrettably with the margin narrowed the team slipped back into a more conservative style of play. As legs tired, the Cambridge players’ footwork and discipline both deteriorated, and captain Addy was unlucky to be the one to receive a green card for a missed tackle. Both teams had chances, with Vicky Evans in goal doing well to clear a number of loose balls around the Cambridge line. However, despite some promising attacks Cambridge were unable to find the crucial third goal, with the game finishing 3-2 to Holcombe.

There were some positives to be taken from the second half, but Cambridge left the field disappointed to once again fail to convert promising play into much-needed points. Star performer was Alex Maskell in her first season for the blues, who impressed with her relentless work off the ball and aggressive play with it.