Basingstoke 1 vs Oxford City 1 - 11.10.1421-4 Loss
On Saturday half a dozen City players travelled to Basingstoke in a match that would count for the regional league and Oxfordshire League 1.
We had not so much put all our eggs in one basket but had to use all our available eggs. This match was about principle as much as korfball and heading out we decided the only way to win was pull together as a team in the face of this difficult situation.
Historically, we have not done well against Basingstoke. I can't find an occasion on record where we have won against their first team and in February, when Oxford United played them, we lost by 14 goals with an over-brimming squad of 12.
Oxford roadworks and a newer venue meant that, as well as doing without a full eight and subs, we also did without a warm-up. There was to be plenty of running in the game so we would all get a significant workout but a single injury and the game would be over.
First half it became apparent why playing with six is not advisable. Stolid defending kept the Basingstoke goals down to a determined trickle. Alice got our first goal with a well-crafted running in shot and Jo then got in a cheeky looping ball from feed. The half ended 9-2.
Second half the non-shooters seemed to be changing constantly as the fine pressure Gaz and Dave were applying led numerous shots to fall short or bounce off. Ev and Ruth both had several shots that were tantalisingly close in their division's long controlled attacks. Dave very frequently won the collect despite being outnumbered on pitch. Alice scored a second carbon-copy runner and Gaz scored a goal that could only be described as epic. Both boys chasing him down as he dropped off to a significant distance for the shot (he has clearly been practising the big step back!).
The defensive pairs from all our girls were excellent but long shots for Basingstoke started to go in more towards the end of the game plus their repetitive crossing moves got very tiresome. Final score was 21-4, which is a little worse than we wanted but the way we had pulled together and played for every ball was more important.
Unofficial MVP - I think we all deserve this one. If we can do this with six against last year's league winners just imagine how great we can be with eight or even the luxurious ten! Well done to all six for being there, and resisting the draw of the National Ploughing Championships happening just down the road.
Scorers - Alice (2), Gaz (1), Jo (1)
- Match report by Jo
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