Nadia’s super shot seals win for Stratton

A windy afternoon at Manor Road saw Long Stratton Ladies take on league leaders Hockering – and win.

The match itself was a relatively even affair, with both teams looking to steal a victory in the blustery conditions.

Stratton started slowly, taking a bit of time to find their feet and absorbed the early Hockering pressure, before taking the game to Hockering and showing some beautiful passing and counter-attacking play.

As the first half drew to a close neither team looked to be in control of the game.

The second half saw Stratton kicking into the wind and Hockering tried to use that to their advantage, attempting the “over the top” ball to their centre-forwards.

Some gritty defending from sisters Jenny and Becky Head at the back and hard work from the Stratton midfield managed to keep Hockering chances to a minimum, with Teresa Walker in goal showing her pace off her line to collect any loose balls bouncing around.

With five minutes left on the clock a well-deserved draw looked to be on the cards, until a moment of magic saw Stratton take the lead.

A long clearance up the right-hand side was poorly dealt with by Hockering, allowing Nadia Child to dispossess a player before slipping past another before spotting the keeper off her line and dispatching a curling left-foot effort into the top left hand corner of the goal.

The final five minutes saw the hosts soak up the pressure to seal three excellent points.

An awesome performance against a seasoned Hockering team, who have been playing together for several seasons now.

Another highlight on what has been a good first season for Long Stratton ladies so far.

Jenny Head was Player of the Match, on her return from injury. Solid as a rock once again.