Bracknell ladies 2 s beat Gerrards Cross 2 s 3-2 on Saturday. With a depleted team, the team travelled to GX hoping for the win despite missing a couple of key players. The ladies took the game to the home side from the whistle and soon began to dominate possession. It was not long before some good passing work from the midfield led to a well made goal by Captain Kelly Lockyer. The away team continued the half with determination and more good passing, which found Helen Goodall on the ball inside the opposition circle who made certain of her goal by slotting it beneath the advancing keeper. GX attempted a number of attacks of their own but these were efficiently dealt with by the defence and stand in keeper Hayley Oliver.

Bracknell ladies 2 s beat Banbury 2-1 to remain in third place in Trysports Div 2 on Saturday. The team started with some good passing play, but Banbury were performing better than expected and not giving the home team an easy ride. A good interception in midfield and a quick well placed pass found Keelee Chalk to the left of the attacking D, who made a first time cross square to her right into the path of a sprinting Joy Westlake, who calmly slotted the ball beneath the approaching keeper to score her first goal in Bracknell colours.
Some more good passing through the midfield found Sarah Camish in possession to the right of the D where she unleashed a powerful strike that went through the Banbury keeper s legs and into the goal.
Banbury s youthful speed and exuberance kept the Bracknell team under pressure but the defence played well to stifle their attacks. Keeping the score at 2-0 into the half time break.
The second half for Bracknell can only be described as lacklustre, being two nil up and playing the bottom of the table opposition, the team didn t have their usual second half fighting spirit and managed to lose the shape in their formation. Bracknell were dispossessed in midfield by a bad stick tackle, that was unfortunately missed by the umpire, leaving Banbury in possession and with some young fast forwards they capitalised on this making a quick break to beat the outnumbered defence and score a come back goal. Instead of coming back out and pushing harder, Bracknell seemed deflated and missed a number of shots as well as not capitalising on a number of short corners. The away team could have made it 2 all about half way into the second half when a penalty stroke was awarded due to the ball hitting a defender s foot on in front of the goal, but the flick taker made a poor effort and put the ball straight at the Bracknell keeper, much to the home side s relief. This seemed
  to wake Bracknell up and they played out the remainder of the game with more composure and retained a larger amount of possession with Aimee Harkins coming close to scoring on two occasions, but the score line remained the same until the final whistle. A game the team will be glad to put behind them and they will look to perform better against mid table opposition next this weekend.

Bracknell ladies 2 s had their second match of the weekend on Sunday, a re-arranged match that had been postponed in January due to snow. Heading off to Bicester with a slightly stronger team than for the previous day s defeat, the ladies were determined to come away with a win to make up for Saturday s disappointment.
The team took the game to the opposition from the whistle and soon began to dominate possession. This told out when 5 minutes into the match captain Kelly Lockyer scored the first goal from a shot that was deflected in by a Bicester foot. Later into the half, the away team won a number of penalty corners and scored from two of these, courtesy of a powerful clean strike from the top of the D by Rachel Whittle and a slap shot from Suzy Hardingham that deflected up off a defender s foot but still had enough power behind it to loop up into the back of the net. As Bracknell dominated the play in midfield & up front, Lockyer completed her hat trick with two more well taken goals from open play, putting the visitors 5-0 up at the half time break.
In the second half, with tired legs from their second game in 2 days and knowing they had the game in the bag, Bracknell stepped off the gas a little and allowed the opposition to get more into the game to have a number of their own attacks & a couple of penalty corners. The defensive line held firm however and despite tired legs, Bracknell managed to continue to outclass Bicester, scoring a further two more goals, both from Caroline Apsey (one from open play & one from a well worked penalty corner routine). This made the final result 7-0 to Bracknell.
Credit must go to Bicester for never giving up & continuing to play hard until the final whistle despite score line.

TBC

TBC

Bracknell ladies 2 s gave top of the table Reading 3 s a good run for their money on Saturday. The side started strongly and surprised Reading with an early goal to take the lead, courtesy of captain Kelly Lockyer. Reading, who had only conceded 7 goals and had not dropped a single point so far this season, recovered from their shock and immediately put the Bracknell defence under pressure. The defence and midfield held firm for a long period of time, successfully defending a number of penalty corners and managing to get the ball up the pitch to the forwards on the quick break to keep Reading working hard. Not long before half time, Reading managed to score from one of several penalty corners and the scores were level at half time.
The second half began at a fast pace with end to end play from both teams, it was Bracknell that scored next from a good quick break by the midfield to get the ball up to forward Kerry Deans who drew the keeper and defender before passing the ball to Caroline Apsey who had made a good run onto the right post and slotted the ball home. Reading then came back hard and physical and it was not long before they equalised, this time from open play.

Bracknell ladies 2 s beat City of Oxford who were 1 place above them in the league to leapfrog them in the table and move up to third place in Trysports Division 2 on Saturday.
The team started with a more attacking formation than normal and it paid off in the first half, with Bracknell dominating the possession for around 20 minutes. The first goal was scored by Caroline Apsey who was waiting on the post to knock in a well timed cross from the midfield. After their initial shock City of Oxford worked back into the game and relied on counter attacking via their pacey young forwards. The defence and the midfield worked hard to thwart any City attacks and the team went into half time 1-0 up.

The second half was more even and Bracknell began to tire as City attacked at pace in numbers, however it was Bracknell who scored again first thanks to an interception that led to a quick counter attack which City broke down by fouling in their defensive D. The initial penalty corner did not go quite to plan, but the resulting shot hit the foot of a City defender and so Bracknell were awarded with another penalty corner. The corner went as planned, though the initial shot was saved by the City keeper, but determined to get the ball in the net; Bracknell s Bev Randall jumped onto the re-bound ball and slotted it into the goal, scoring her first goal in Bracknell colours. 
Not wanting to give up their 3rd place spot in the league easily, City came back strongly and scored once on the quick break and once from a well taken penalty corner. 
Determined not to settle for the draw, Bracknell battled on with two players gaining green cards from the officious City umpire for their ongoing efforts to thwart the opposition attacks. Ten minutes from time, Bracknell were awarded another penalty corner after City again fouled while attempting to halt the Bracknell attack. Randall again found herself in the right place on the post to deflect in a strike by Rachel Whittle with her second goal earning the 3 points for the team and earning herself a man of the match performance.

On a cold crisp afternoon , Bracknell Ladies 2’s turned-up to play what they thought would be a straight forward match against bottom of the table Phoenix R.  Bracknell started well, pressing hard, and were rewarded by an early goal from Caroline Aspey. The team then relaxed and became lethargic allowing PR to score just before the half time whistle through poor defensive communication.

After a tough team talk by the coach who organised  a change of formation to a more attacking style, Bracknell started the second half as a more positive team and pressed forward at every opportunity. An excellent move starting from a defensive push forward saw Helen Goodall drive confidently down the line and crossed the ball to Katja Challen who was waiting on the penalty spot. She looked at the goal and decided to lift the ball spectacularly into the top left hand corner of the net and Bracknell were 2-1 up. This was a defining moment in the game and Bracknell moved forward to score 2 more goals by Aspey and Suzy Hardingham. Aspey’s goal was a poachers finish and Hardingham’s from a well worked penalty  corner. An Excellent result for Bracknell.

Bracknell ladies 2’s re-started their league season after the Christmas break, a week later than expected due to the previous weekend’s snow. They faced Wycombe at home in a mid table clash. The game started off with Bracknell enjoying most of the possession. It was not long before the away team cracked under the pressure and conceded a penalty corner. Bracknell capitalised on this in the form of a reverse stick cross from Suzy Hardingham being neatly deflected into the net at waist height by captain Kelly Lockyer.
The home team pressed for further goals throughout the first half but Wycombe managed to find their feet and make some threatening attacks of their own. Shortly before half time, following a fast paced break up the pitch from Wycombe, a defensive error gave Wycombe a penalty corner. Despite the initial shot being saved well by keeper Steph Newton, Bracknell failed to clear the re-bound and Wycombe equalised the score line.1-1
In the second half the possession was more even and both teams began to show tiredness and a lack of match sharpness as the game began to get a bit scrappy. Bracknell had a number of chances, but failed to find that finishing touch in the attacking D with a couple of shots going wide and two missed chances with only the keeper to beat. Wycombe came close on a few occasions but also failed to find the net. Despite tired legs, the home team continued to battle on from end to end. Man of the match went to Steph Newton who pulled off some fabulous saves in the second half to keep the score lines level.

TBC

Bracknell Ladies 2 s suffered their first league defeat of the season away at Reading at the weekend. With team top scorer Caroline Apsey & key central midfielder Rachel Whittle, as well as a last minute injury to defender Emma Williams & three or four other players unavailable, Bracknell were always going to be up against it to post a win.
The young fast Reading development team started the brighter and following squandered possession in the left midfield, their right forward sprinted past two players and crossed the ball into the D where the second Reading forward beat her defender for pace & tapped the ball in on the left post. In true Bracknell form, the away team recovered well from going a goal behind and re-gained their composure. After about ten minutes Bracknell levelled the scores through a goal from Aimee Harkins. Harkins intercepted a poor defensive pass to drive into the attacking D and coolly beat the Reading keeper to slot the ball home on her reverse stick.
The half continued at a very fast end to end pace with both teams creating chances. Bracknell began to gain a little more possession than their opposition and following a goal mouth scramble where the Reading defence failed to clear the ball, Helen Goodall was quick to pounce on the loose ball and score from close range to put Bracknell 2-1 up at half time.
In the second half, Reading s superior speed, fitness and youth proved influential as they slowly began to take the upper hand in what had been a very even match. The whole Bracknell team worked doggedly hard in what was definitely their toughest match so far this season. Confusion in defence lead to a penalty corner which Reading scored from on a straight strike and about ten minutes later the home team scored again from a quick break down the left followed by a well taken reverse stick flick from the top of the D that beat both defenders and keeper. Bracknell upped their game and re-gained a larger share of possession for the final fifteen minutes of the match, but failed to take their chances & level the scores, leaving the depleted team feeling they didn t get the draw they deserved from the game.
Special mention goes to Steph Newton who played in goal this week for only the second time this season.

Bracknell ladies 2 s continued their unbeaten form with a frustrating nil all draw at home against mid table Amersham & Chalfont 3 s on Saturday.
The game started at a fast end-to-end pace, played out mostly in the midfield with both teams cancelling each other out and with Bracknell squandering possession more than they have on previous weeks. As the half went on, the home team gained the larger share of the possession and created the most chances; notably two missed open goals and a penalty corner strike saved on the line by the Amersham captain. Amersham never really looked like scoring, indeed the Bracknell keeper only had to make one save all game.
In the second half the visitors, knowing they had little chance of winning the game & looking a little tired, adopted the cunning but defeatist tactic of putting 10 of their 11 players behind the ball to pack out the defence in the hope of gaining a point from the match. Bracknell enjoyed around 80 percent of the possession for the remainder of the game and played some good passing hockey, but kept hitting a wall of Amersham defenders every time they got into the scoring D leaving Bracknell s best chance of scoring to penalty corners. Towards the end of the match Bracknell won a string of about 8 penalty corners, but again failed to find the backboard as Amersham grittily broke down the play and even saved two shots on the goal line that had beaten the keeper.
Bracknell finished the game very frustrated to only get one point from a match they should easily have won and will go back to practicing penalty corners at training in readiness for next week s match against a young Reading development team who lie only two places below them in the table. Bracknell remain in third place in Trysports div 2.

Bracknell Ladies' 2s maintained their undefeated position in Trysports' Hockey League on Saturday when they met top of the table West Whitney 2s.  West Whitney caught Bracknell out with a quick break in the opening minutes of the match which saw them steal an early lead.  A hard struck ball by Aimee Harkins soon equalised when it was deflected in off a defender's stick.  A defensive error made by West Whitney was then soon capitalised on by Rachel Whittle when she managed to undercut the ball and score Bracknell's second goal.  Their lead was further improved by a second goal from Aimee Harkins, striking it between keeper and post following intercepted play by Suzy Hardingham.  
 
In the second half West Whitney fought back hard and began to put Bracknell's defence under pressure.  A brilliantly saved flick by keeper and man of the match Yellie Powley ensured the half remained goalless and upheld Bracknell's 3-1 lead until the close of the game.

With an unbeaten record this season, Bracknell Ladies 2s were determinded to beat Gerrards Cross Ladies 2s. The game started fairly evenly with both teams having a few unsuccessful shots on goal; both teams put up a strong line of defence making it hard to score. Towards the end of the first half Bracknell was awarded a short corner which unfortunatly was cleared by the opposing goalie.

When halftime came, Bracknell were given a strong and encouraging talk and continued on into the second half. With a few more short corners being given in favour of Bracknell, they were starting to play their own game. In the middle of the second half, a beautiful ball came down the wing and was picked up by Aimee Harkins, who neatly placed the ball into the goal from the edge of the circle, scoring the winning goal of the game.

After an early start and a long journey to Banbury, Bracknell had a lot to live up to this weekend in order to remain unbeaten in the league. Bracknell began with what can only be described as a shaky start, conceding an early goal that sneaked over the goal line from a short corner. As Bracknell endeavoured to improve their performance with a return to their preferred diamond formation, a pass into the path of the Banbury frontline led to the half time score line of 2-0. With no coach at the sideline due to a fixture clash, it was up to Kelly Lockyer (Captain) to provide the strong words needed to boost the team. In less than a minute from the off, Rachel Whittle pulled one back on her reverse stick, after a great run down the wing from Helen Goodall. Game on! With an injection of pace and a return to the form shown over the past few weeks, it wasn't long before Bracknell equalised with a top quality strike from Sarah Camish. With another piece of good running  from Helen Goodall, Bracknell pulled away with a 3rd, off the back post from Caroline Apsey. With little pressure on the back 3, Bracknell were able to own the game. An interception from Suzy Hardingham at the 25 proved fatal to a wilting Banbury, as a strike from the top of the D was deflected into the back of the goal by Captain Kelly Lockyer. In a final effort to well and truly put the game to bed, Sarah Camish provided a great ball into the D, which was cooly converted by Caroline Apsey into what can only be described as a top right hand corner screamer! Narrowly missing out on her hat trick Caroline Apsey was voted player of the match for her second consecutive week. Special thanks to Steph Newton on her debut goalkeeper appearance.

In the first half Wokingham came out fighting, whilst Bracknell were not focused enough on the game to come out winning. Wokingham scored first, which added to the frustration of the home side. The only come back was a goal to even it up from Caroline Apsey which gave a first half the score of 1-1. 
 
In the second half Bracknell came out with a changed attitude and began to show off their attacking skills. Reward came from a brilliant set up by Charlotte Clarke which was finished off neatly by Caroline Apsey for her second of the game. 
 
Bracknell's concentration dipped for a few minutes after the goal and despite some solid tackling by Jane Theodolou,Wokingham capitalised by putting them under immediate pressure and making the score even once again. However this did not last long as Suzy Hardingham battled her way into the circle and slap hit an awesome lifted shot which put her side in the lead again. This was consolidated fairly quickly by another amazing goal this time from Aimee Harkins. 
 
Joint Players of the match were Caroline Apsey and Sarah Camish.

Bracknell Ladies went out strongly from the whistle in a new formation which produced some fabulous hockey from defence through midfield up to the forwards. Caroline Apsey played some great hockey and skillfully took the ball down the left wing passed several Yateley players,  slipped the ball through to Kelly Lockyer who floored the goal keeper with some super stick work and finished with a lovely flick into the top corner of the net. After half time Bracknell continued with fluent hockey, stong performances from Emma Cox at the back and a well deserved "Player of the Match" for Rachel Whittle mainly for her acrobatic efforts in the D. Yateley scored a scrappy goal towards the end of the second half ending the game with a disappointing draw for Bracknell.  Bracknell can hold their heads up high for a great team effort and should take away some valuable lessons for next weeks league game.  Bring it on!

This match was postponed due to a mix up with the pitch booking.

Bracknell went out clearly determined to retain 3rd place in their Trysports division, putting pressure on City of  Oxford from the start.
 
Bracknell were awarded a short corner 15 minutes in to the 1st half where a well worked set play between Fiona Lewis and Caroline Apsey resulted in Bracknell' s first goal.
 
City of Oxford then started to battle back but some resolute defending saw Bracknell maintain the 1-0 lead. Bracknell stretched their lead to 2-0 just before half time. The goal was given away by a wild stick tackle on Katja Challen in front of the City of Oxford goal resulting in a penalty flick for Bracknell. Challen coolly converted.
 
Both teams came out strong after half time however City of Oxford scored 2 quick goals making the score line 2-2. Bracknell replied with a goal from Kelly Lockyer which was flicked past the keeper making the score 3-2 to Bracknell. 
 
Bracknell worked hard to keep the 3-2 scoreline but it wasn t to be. City of Oxford won a short corner in the last second of the game and with a well rehearsed set piece they managed to equalise stealing a point and consigning Bracknell to a draw 3-3. 

Bracknell Ladies had a very good match this week winning against High Wycombe 4-0 in their away game. They scored in the first half from a short corner which was hit out by Fiona Lewis followed by an excellent strike from Rachel Whittle which was deflected into the goal by Kerry Deans. This spurred on Bracknell even more with another goal being scored early in the second half by Keelee Chalk. This really put the pressure on High Wycombe who did their best to fight back winning a few short corners however being unsuccessful against Bracknell s strong defence. Soon after Bracknell got their third goal through Bonnie Butler which was closely followed by a second goal from Kerry Deans.
A comfortable 3 points which should give the side confidence.

Bracknell ladies 2s opened their league season with a strong performance against Bicester 2s. Bracknell enjoyed a large amount of the possession for the first 15 minutes, passing the ball around well, but failed to score despite a number of chances in the attacking D. Bicester managed to recapture more possession during the second part of the first half as the Bracknell players tired a little in the heat of the sun, though Bracknell still looked the stronger team and the most likely to score. 
Player of the match Charlie Clarke helped her defence soak up most of the pressure, but unfortunately Bracknell's inability to convert their chances up front was punished when a Bicester took a quick free hit up the pitch and scored a well taken goal against the run of play, five minutes before half time. 
 
After drinking much water and receiving a rousing half time talk from coach Sean Hardingham, Bracknell went into the second half with renewed vigour and more than a little angry at being 0-1 down. Bracknell's will to win was proven when five minutes into the second half, after a spell of good possession in the midfield, Keelee Chalk pounced ona well timed pass from her sister Bianca, to neatly sweep the ball inside the left post providing a well deserved equaliser to the home side.
Bracknell continued to enjoy large spells of possession throughout the midfield and attack but were thwarted by Bicester, who as the second half went on, resorted to putting 9 out of 11 players behind the ball and packing out the defence, determined to cling on to a draw. This made it increasingly difficult for the home side to get the ball into a clear scoring position, but they never stopped trying and continued to maintain the bulk of the possession until the final whistle.
 

In their first non-league warm up game against Staines 4's, Bracknell's aim was to try and put in to action new skills and tactics learned in pre-season training. For the first 10 minutes, the home side started at a frenetic pace, but slowly  settled down and began to play some fantastic hockey. Their  reward came with their first goal  from Sarah Camish with the assist from Captain Kelly Lockyer. Half time came and went and Bracknell Ladies came out fighting. A second goal came quickly from Yasmin McMahon.