BHHC W3s 4-2 Horsham W3s
Alexandra Smart reports: "The Sussex gales were blowing the right way for the W3s on Sunday as we actually located the goal. Jo finally started the season to meet Jess and Jess but not yet Jess. She was alarmed that the new loos were so small and admitted to nearly falling in.

Most of the defence took the week off so I dropped back to hang out with Diva and Anna. We had a great time, taking it in turns to mark two very high Horsham forwards or going for a run up the pitch. Anna joked about getting into the D but actually did on one occasion. Diva’s hits at 16s were well delivered, helped by warm up practice when she managed to hit the egg timer so precisely, it still works but just won’t stick to the fence.

We opted for a midfield diamond with Abby holding the defensive end extremely well, distributing balls up the wings. Ange was pumped to be back with the 3s (the happiest face in the team photo) and the team was just as excited to have her in the midfield, always on for a pass. Izzy’s speed on the right won her many 1v1s and she enthusiastically put pressure on the ball to try and win it. She was rewarded a green card for some over enthusiasm towards the player with the ball on one occasion. Wan managed to trap several very dodgy passes (mostly from me) with some lovely 3D skills to defeat players. Jess O’s stick skills helped us keep possession and feed the forwards with lots of lovely balls.

There were various comedy moments trying to score, including Shelley slipping over on her way to the D, Mirriam going for an Alex Danson style dive without getting the ball and Jo trying out a new stick with some air shots. Shelley was outraged after skilfully playing the ball through her legs to then hit it into the corner of the goal when she was blown up for obstruction. After questioning why she can’t nutmeg herself, the umpires were fed up of backchat (from both teams) by half time. Jess H got her revenge in the 5s vs 7s match later when Marie started muttering to herself about being 5 metres from the ball and Jess called her in to have a word about questioning the umpire on the 5 metre rule.

The forward line of Jo, Shelley and Mirriam worked brilliantly as a team with lots of solid passes to get towards the goal. A well timed cross from the right saw Mirriam dive for the ball on her reverse stick to put it past the keeper and we took the lead. Apparently she finds it easy to hit the ground having very short legs. This was confirmed in the post match team photo where we discovered that Jess H kneeling down is the same height as Mirriam standing up.

Horsham responded with a reverse stick flick at close range on a penalty corner. They were then awarded a controversial penalty flick after the ball came off Jess in a penalty corner - the bruise on the Horsham player suggested that the ball hit her leg but the finger was pointed at Anna and the flick was awarded. Jess saved it with ease, much to the frustration of Horsham who struggled to find a player willing to take the flick. With Ange’s guest appearance to inject penalty corners, we actually scored one this week with Shelley putting it over the line. Horsham responded this time with a quick counter and it looked like we’d have to settle for a draw. Thankfully, Shelley was desperate to buy a jug and great team work all the way up the pitch resulted in two more goals and a hattrick.

Inspired by rugby players in glitter, Mirriam bought her v-jazzle gems and tweezers to decorate our faces for the evening. Jess H delivered Dominos that tasted exactly the same as when I last had one, 22 years ago. Pints of vodka and lemonade were flowing in the clubhouse - minus ice which made the generous measures quite a challenging drink.

Jess O made herself designated driver for the evening but didn’t realise that the school gates would be locked by the time we left the clubhouse. Gemma recommended a shortcut through the playing fields to the front of the school and the glitter crew trekked cross country to try and break into Blatch. Gate codes didn’t work and out of hours buzzers went unanswered. Liv remembered that there was a key to the top gate and Jess’ Mini was eventually rescued. Oakhill Cars was then available to drive everyone home. After demanding that her husband come and pick her up, Mirriam got on a train at Hove and assumed that a payment for her ticket from the joint account would be enough to inform him that she no longer needed a lift. She was too busy looking at her phone for the league results after Horsham mistakenly just put in their own score, which defaulted to us therefore scoring none and them winning 2-0. We eagerly await the correct update to put us into second place in the league.

PoM: Hattrick nutmeg Shelley. DoD: Welcome back, Jo - try not to fall in the small loo next time."

Middleton W1s 2-1 BHHC W4s

BHHC W6s 1-1 Burgess Hill W2s

BHHC W7s 1-4 BHHC W5s

BHHC W8s no game

JUNIORS

BHHC Gulls 2-7 Horsham

BHHC Girls U14 Albatross 2-2 Fleet & Ewshot Girls U14 A
Tom Clitheroe reports: "After a tough opening fixture away to Epsom last week, the Albatrosses were looking forward to making Blatchington their home fortress to properly kick start their season.

A much younger side turned out for this match, which included three new players: welcome to BHHC Eliza, Elizabeth and Florence. Starting the game with intent and on the front foot, the Albatrosses dominated the opening 20 minutes with lovely passing and several entries into the opposition D. Our defence of Sophie, Ze and Evie were untroubled and well marshalled in front of them by Auden. A well worked goal finished with a back post finish from Maisie followed shortly afterwards by a fine strike from Georgie meant the Albatrosses took 2-0 lead into half time. Fleet emerged after the break energized and more committed leading to a goal midway through the half followed by a 60 minute equalizer. Alice (GK) made a number of fine saves to set up a tense last 10 minutes. The Albatrosses rallied and come closest to taking all three points but alas, a thoroughly deserved draw was the result.

Scorers: Maisie and Georgie. POMs: Georgie and Alice (GK)"

BHHC Girls U16 Cormorants 6-0 Burgess Hill Girls U16 Marine Fillies
Simon Healey reports: "A new season and some new faces for the Cormorants - and a very impressive start all round. Brighton completely dominated the first half, creating numerous chances whilst looking solid at the back - Flo B and Lily in complete control, with Sorrel and Kayla dominating possession in midfield. Pressure soon turned in to goals, and we found ourselves 5-0 up at half time. This allowed for rotation and experimentation in the second half, making for a more even game. We scored one more goal and kept a clean sheet thanks to a brilliant save from Ivy.

Scorers: Grace (2), Imo, Kayla (2) and Poppy. PoMs: Kayla and Flo B.
If this team can stay together for the season we have high hopes for another successful campaign."

Chertsey Thames Valley Girls U16 8-2 BHHC Girls U16 Ospreys

BHHC Girls U18 2-1 East Grinstead Girls U18 Development

BHHC results on the EH website and the Sussex Hockey Association website.

Please contact bhhc.publicity@gmail.com with any queries.