Joey Bryant reports: “Brighton welcomed Aldershot & Farnham to their home ground, full of optimism after a string of recent losses, particularly buoyed by a previous 3-1 victory over them away.

The mood was set early as some of the team gathered for a hearty breakfast of ‘protein’ pancakes, eggs, spinach and plenty of coffee to fuel the day ahead. However, there was a brief moment of chaos as Joey (the DoD for the day) forgot her hockey shoes, but despite that hiccup everything else seemed to be falling into place.

Aldershot & Farnham arrived with just 11 players, which gave Brighton a slight morale boost, but the match didn’t go entirely as planned. The first half was a struggle for Brighton as they found themselves a goal down, though the team’s fighting spirit remained unwavering. They endured a few tough challenges, including some painful whacks to the face from the opposition and Eliza even got some ‘free lip filler’ after taking a stick to the mouth. Although some setbacks, Brighton kept pushing forward.

Hannah S (not sure why) received a green card in the first half, adding to the tension, but the team’s resolve was still intact.

The second half proved to be more action-packed. A major talking point was Aoife’s incredible attacking play, where she was fouled by the Aldershot & Farnham goalkeeper, who took her out , swiped her in the head and managed to trip and injure her own player in the process. The ball popped loose, and Joey capitalised on the opportunity, scoring.

Unfortunately, the umpire had already blown the whistle, and Brighton was instead awarded a flick. Bara stepped up to take the flick, and she made no mistake, scoring the equaliser.

However, not everything continued smoothly for Brighton. Renee suffered a painful knee injury after a rough challenge from the opposition, forcing her to leave the field. Despite the injury, the defence and midfield remained solid throughout the rest of the game, with great defensive work limiting Aldershot & Farnham’s opportunities.

Brighton’s biggest struggle of the day came in the attacking third, where they were unable to convert enough of their chances. The team struggled to make that crucial final pass in the D, which led to several missed opportunities. As the final whistle blew, the match ended 1-1.

Brighton will look to build on their solid defensive play and improve their attacking efficiency in their upcoming fixtures.

PoM: Amy – for her excellent all-around performance and consistent effort throughout the game.
DoD: Joey – the forgotten hockey shoes are tough to overlook!"

BHHC 3s 5
Middleton 1s 0

Alex Smart reports: "After being four drinks down last Saturday by 3pm, it felt like a long day waiting for our turn on the show pitch at Blatch. We passed the time supporting the 1s and 2s with a team effort on the Waitrose magazine crossword.

Gemma refused to believe that Waitrose could possibly use the word “bender” as an answer. Jo was busy getting a new car headlight at the team meet time. Abbie misheard, thought Jo was getting highlights and commented on how nice her hair looked when she arrived.

After setting some personal and team goals, we eagerly took to the pitch. It took the first half to get out of the starting blocks and despite some decent hockey, we realised at half time (0-0) that we really needed to step up a gear if we wanted to see results.

Two minutes into the second half and with a fantastic passage of play and great carrying from Izzy K on the right, the ball was crossed into the D for Shelley who was ready to pounce with her stick on the ground for a classy deflection into the net.

Three minutes later, Sorrel poached the ball in midfield, powered her way into the D and hammered the ball into the goal. After some close encounters on penalty corners, Jo found space at the top of the D to get the third.

Middleton’s frustration rose as quickly as the pre-storm heat and we continued to dominate. A strong high press allowed Jo, Shelley and Izzy L to turn the ball over and get into the D quickly. Beth, Sorrel and Izzy K worked hard in midfield to track back and mark when we were out of possession with quick reactions to change direction as soon as we won the ball back.

Sumi and Ellen (surprisingly awake on four hours sleep) were crucial screens to overpower the opposition in the centre of the pitch. I came out of defensive retirement to join Diva, Gemma and Aisha in the back line. I didn’t even need to brush the cobwebs off my face mask as we didn’t concede any corners.

Bisham Abbey was welcomed back into the goal on a double header and despite having long quiet periods, kept a clean sheet when there were some dangerous counter attacks. Thankfully she was paying attention to the strike coming her way when the rest of us rushed to Gemma’s aid after she was taken out by a stick at the top of the D.

Just as the opposition were getting really sick of us, repeatedly asking the umpires when the game would be over, Shelley went for her second goal to give us a 4-0 lead. In the closing minutes, Sorrel once again won a turnover in midfield and took the ball into the D for another cracking strike. If the game had gone on any longer, Sorcha would have been liable for a jug on Sorrel’s behalf.

We’ve shuffled further up the table into third, playing top of the league South Saxons this weekend. Apparently they’re busy making “TikToks”. I can’t tell you what they say as the videos aren’t on My Space."

Other results

BHHC 2s 0 Epsom 2s 1
East Grinstead 3s 3 BHHC 4s 1
BHHC 5s 0 Mid Sussex 2s 1
Southwick 1s 3 BHHC 6s 2
BHHC 7s 1 Worthing 2s 0
BHHC 8s 0 Lewes 5s 7