Luton Town Ladies 1st XI v Blueharts 2nd XI

This Saturday Luton Ladies 1st XI travelled the short hop up the A505 to Hitchin to face local rivals Blueharts. It was a fine day and Luton were hoping that their performance would be as glowing as the Autumn sunshine. It looked as if Lady Luck might be smiling on them as they won the toss, but it was there that their good fortune would end as ultimately they would not achieve better than a two all draw against the home side.

It may have been an omen of things to come when Luiza Uziello strode confidently onto the astro to start the game, only to find that she had positioned herself on completely the wrong side of the pitch. The lack of warm up opportunity prior to push back seemed to affect Luton badly and they really struggled to get into their flow early on, with the back four having to absorb significant pressure from the Blueharts forwards. Luton consequently had not got into their stride at all when Blueharts scored their first, a cheeky reverse stick lob that somehow found its way into the back of the net. This seemed to wake Luton a little from their slumber and they started to assert their own pressure on Blueharts, with Beth Carlisle causing the defence real difficulties with her impressive runs into the circle. It was however Suzanne Starkey that pulled Luton back level, with what was astonishingly the veteran strikers first ever goal scored from a reverse sweep. With all Carlisle’s efforts it was quite deservedly her who put the visitors ahead shortly afterwards, somehow sneaking the ball past the keeper’s near post after one of her mazy runs.

Luton were lucky to hold their lead into half time when in a moment more reminisce of a game of Pinball Wizard than anything I’ve ever seen in hockey, the Blueharts shot ricocheted off of not one, but two Luton players sticks, then firmly struck goalkeeper Shannon Smith’s helmet before pinging onto the bottom of the crossbar, and finally being cleared by a defender. Luton’s relief was evident as they went in to the break. 2-1 half time.

The second half continued in very much a similar vain to the first, with both teams having their chances. Rochelle Lewsey’s broken fingers were causing her difficulty and the instrumental players occasional pit stops to the side line hampered Luton’s efforts. It was Blueharts who, after stealing the ball in midfield, found themselves with the overload, as all the Luton players apart from a couple of their defenders seemed to have vanished from the pitch. Blueharts used it to good effect and a simple pass across the goal left it virtually impossible for them to do anything but draw level. 2-2. Luton had been unsure on many occasions throughout the game whether the umpires had suffered a whistle malfunction or whether they had simply left the essential piece of equipment at home and the frustration was starting to become too much for some of the players. Suzanne Starkey was lucky that her helpful comment to them, was just another of the things that they missed, as she may otherwise have found herself taking an involuntary break from the game!

In a match where Luton’s performance was certainly not their best it is positive that there are still encouraging points to take away. Kerri Stinton fought hard in the midfield, Beth Carlisle continued to demonstrate her attacking promise and teenage first team debutant Tara Clancy excelled at left defence, making some crucial tackles and distributing the ball well. It was however Luiza Uziello who claimed the player of the match award for the first time, after a determined performance and a significant contribution to the game. Mare of the match actually went to Iain Starkey for his comment after the game, “Well at least you won” ???!!!, so I guess Suzanne wins it by default.