The hottest day of the year so far greeted the girls in Stirling along with a fantastic view of the hills and the Stirling Monument. We had 13 ladies travel but again the theme of this half of the season was the numbers missing. 3 of the previous week’s midfield were not with us along with a couple of others. However Jo Thomas, Nicole Duffin and Becky Sinclair stepped up and we had the return of Alison Akiri in goals which allowed Jen Smith to play outfield.
The first quarter saw GCW have a couple of early opportunities but that is the end of the good news. If at all possible forgetting the first quarter would be the best choice but we cannot. In 5 minutes slow transfers of the ball saw the defence robbed of the ball and all efforts to prevent a goal were in vain as a penalty flick was awarded for preventing the ball crossing the line by the body. The result was 1-0 to Stirling. Not the end of the bad news however as two minutes later a weak transfer across the circle found a surprised Stirling player all ready to shoot but in an effort to make a desperate tackle a second flick was awarded for the foul in the act of shooting. The conversion was in the opposite corner this time so 2-0 down in ten minutes and frankly not playing at all well.
The quarter ended and there was some tough talking about fixing the issues and the side came out trying to step up play. This they did and looked a bit more like normal but despite the extra control and domination of possession nothing would go in.
The third quarter saw a further stepping up in performance level and complete dominance of possession but only a one goal return for the efforts. A penalty corner was fired at goal an the rebound was pushed home by Alanna Willox for her second goal in two weeks GCW were in complete control but again chances came and went. In the final quarter with 10 minutes remaining GCW pulled their keeper and played with 11 outfield players. The extra player allowed more players forward but again no benefit in terms of goals. Although it should be noted Stirling never made it into the GCW circle at any point.
The final result was a disappointing 2-1 defeat brought about by our own sluggishness in the first quarter and the inability to score enough from chances created. Not to worry it was a lovely day. Next week Aberdeen Uni but the rotation of players will continue.
Sunday saw the 4s play Aberdeen University 4s. A comfortable win of 6 or 7 nil for the 4s in a dominant display. Good umpiring from Jen Smith and her colleague from Aberdeen University made the day far more relaxing than the Saturday.