Tamworth 1st XI 1 - 7 Old Silhillians
Second half kickstarts season
Tamworth 1st XI 1 (0) - (1) 7 Old Silhillians
Goalscorers: Liv Straw (3), Virginia Bournot, Emma Berry, Laura McTernan, Juliana Castillo
Sils started their season with an away trip to a new team to the division, one that had come down from Div 1 - Tamworth.
Up against an experienced side that has played many years of Midlands hockey, the young Sils side was not sure what to expect. However, they started strongly, and took the lead through Laura McTernan deflecting home a PC within the first 10 minutes. However, Tamworth retaliated, and whilst Sils probably had more of the ball, the home side were also creating chances of their own, with one goal being over-turned due to a forward kicking it just before they put the ball in, and also another forward missing from less than a yard out.
There were several new faces to the Sils line-up, and so there was a lack of cohesion, and also some lapses in concentration which allowed the home team's play-maker to carry the ball forward and create opportunities.
Coach Sharon managed to impart some words of wisdom at half-time, but the team barely had chance to do anything different when Tamworth equalised with their first attack of the second half, a PC strike being deflected past Izzy in goal by one of her own defenders. However, with Sophie Clapham (nee Boyle) returning to the club, and playing a key role in marshalling the midfield, taking the ball off Tamworth's star player every time she ran at her, the Sils were able to lay solid foundations for ramping up the pressure on a tiring home defence. The retook the lead within two minutes in a slightly fortuitous fashion, a cross from the left, catching the post, thereby wrong-footing the GK, and allowing Emma Berry to be in the right place at the right time, to score her first 1st team league goal.
From then on, the wind had been knocked out of Tamworth's sales, and this allowed Liv Straw to run at the defence, three times finding enough space to score calmly past the home keeper, and with further goals from Virginia Bournot, and one on her debut for the club by Juliana Castillo, the second half saw Sils register 6 goals and secure an impressive 7-1 win.