Old Silhillians 2nd XI 0 - 0 Hampton-in-Arden 3rd XI

Sils entertained local rivals Hampton, looking for their first points, but perhaps more importantly, a nicer game than they had experienced in the previous 2 weeks.

The home side had a strong squad of 14, and matched up very well against the Hampton side who had a similar mix of experience and youth.

Early signs were positive for Sils as Amy Garside and Carys Rowlands made inroads down the Sils left, but the experienced Masters International playing at the back for Hampton snuffed out most threats. Sils had their own dominant centre-back in Kate Huntington and she controlled the defence magnificently with Helen Price using her own individual style to save any shots that did come, and ably supported by the defensive efforts of Olivia Arnold, Lucy Windeatt and Jessica Cox.

At half-time, the talk was of trying to stretch the experienced, but perhaps not quite as spritely, legs that Hampton had at the back, but to be honest, for much of the second half, the Sils focussed more on defending. Every player played their part, Abi Landa covering lots of ground to try and win the ball back, and the defence continuing to work hard - and Hampton must have had, and fail to score from, at least a dozen PCs.

As the game went on, Millie McCamley started to get more involved, and worked with Izzy Gardner in the middle of the pitch, to transfer the play out to the right, and this was where Sils began to get a bit more joy - Laura Porter beginning to make the most of the space she was afforded to cause the visitors several uneasy moments at the back. Sils won their own PCs, but sadly were also unable to convert from them, but in the end, the home team should be satisfied with a point - which is the first points Hampton have dropped this season.

Lessons to be learnt for next week is how much easier it is to cause threats for the opposition and also make it harder for them to attack if the ball is played to the Sils right, as opposed to constantly down the left.

Player of the Match to Millie McCamley for her ball-winning, calmness on the ball, and excellent distribution.