Bracks against the wall
Oxford Women's hockey continued its successful build-up to the Varsity this week with a convincing 2-0 win against Bracknell at the weekend.
Saturday was a bitterly cold day but Oxford managed to produce one of their better performances to date. They looked confident and sharp in their passing and movement around the pitch. AJ Rivlin (Oxford) was commanding in midfield and defence, with Kate Reynolds (Oxford) only just missing out on a hat trick. The Oxford team controlled the game from the start, out-classing the Bracknell team in every aspect of the game.
The first goal for Oxford came after a passage of dominating play. Reynolds, capitalising upon a short corner, flicked home an unstoppable shot to take Oxford into an early lead. The Bracknell team played with spirit and produced some good phases of play. However, they never really seemed to get any momentum going, or enough to break through the solid Oxford defence and threaten the Oxford goal.
Although dominating the game, Oxford still found it difficult to capitalise upon every opportunity, and some crosses across the face of the Bracknell goal went begging for an Oxford stick. The Bracknell defence can take some credit for this. They managed to block the majority of shots Oxford threw their way, a lot just through pure luck and sheer number of defenders.
The second half proceeded in much the same way as the first. Reynolds scored her second goal for Oxford, again from a short corner, around 15 minutes into the half. Oxford appeared to settle comfortably into dominating the play, and although Bracknell created a few breaks the back of the Oxford net remained empty.
This was one of Oxford's more impressive performances, creating flowing passages characterised by moments of individual brilliance. Ford must be mentioned for her outstanding stick work and also AJ Rivlin, who frequently left her opposition standing. This Oxford team have really seemed to gel and although they are suffering from various injuries, the spirit and fitness are present. The Oxford Captain Pamela Walker, who was out due to injury, was pleased with the performance of her team and expressed the importance of building to the Varsity and improving upon every game. This team gives the impression of developing at the right pace in order to peak at just the right time to "shoo the tabs!"
26th Feb 2004