Another early morning for the 3s this week, this time at Falmer, and the sun was out for us once again! We had some big names out this week, most notably our co-captain, Gabi who went to play for the 2s! We also had Emily, Gubbs, Lizzie, and Freya all absent, so it was a busy week of organising for the captains! This meant some new faces joined the squad, including goalkeeper Tallulah, and Heidi from the 4s. We also had the joy of having Camilla play for us this week in the centre midfield position. After a below-par warmup and an equally disappointing team talk from me, the 3s were ready for a thrilling clash against Brighton - our 1-0 win against them in November meant we knew they would come out hard for revenge!

It was a very strong start for the 3s and every player on the team was fighting hard to get a goal. We displayed dominance from the first whistle and never seemed to stop! It was definitely one of our strongest displays of ball control and composure, with some beautiful hockey on display! The ball was being carried superbly up field, with lengthy passages of possession. Camilla was continuously our central rock, firing balls left and right to Naomi and Jess as they made stunning runs up the wing. Jess was playing to her usual high standard, carrying the ball up the right wing with ease and delivering balls into the D to our forwards, and Naomi was working tirelessly to intercept balls and make cracking tackles. Brighton began to fire some long balls up field to their speedy forwards, but luckily for us, Lou and Heidi were there to stop them in their tracks with some killer tackles! Unfortunately our hard work was not rewarded, and even with some close calls from the girls up front, Brighton were the first to score. This goal game from a short corner and ended up being very unlucky for us 3s, with a bit of a scramble occurring in the D before it hit the backboard. This didn't stop us from pushing though - in fact it only spurred us on further! Lewes continued to build from the back, with some wonderful 16s from Lou up pitch to find our midfield line. Today saw a great linkup between Pippa and Rhi to help secure us the win, and this is where our first goal came from. A beautiful run from Pippa across D to find the perfectly places, Rhi who fired it in! This saw the first half end 1-1 after a close 35 minutes.

The second half was a similar story to the first, seeing Lewes continue to dominant throughout. Our backline made sure to keep Brighton at bay, preventing them from doing much more than gain a few short corners. Our second goal was scored relatively early on, and came from our golden Goldie! Receiving it in the D, she whacked it across the area towards goal, which then lead to it hitting some Brighton sticks or feet on the way through making it deflect into the goal and past their keeper. Technically an own goal, but still a stunning strike and a great goal to put us into the lead! There was then a lightly scary moment where Brighton thought they had equalised, however luckily for us, the umpires agreed that it had hit a Brighton foot on the way in, so the Lewes lead was safe! Not long after this incident came our third and final goal which happened to be very similar to the first! After receiving the ball around the half way line, Kate carried it up field and hit it across D where Pippa was there to pick it up. After Pippa had a shot herself which was unsuccessful, Rhi was then perfectly placed again to hit the rebound home and get us to 3-1! Things then began to get a bit feisty and the tensions grew between teams as we began to push in front. We had to be sure to keep our cool for the last 10 minutes. Unfortunately Brighton were awarded another short corner and with their routine being very well rehearsed, they snuck another goal in with only a few minutes to spare. However a solid final 2 minutes form Lewes meant the win was secured!

No Gabi meant no baked goods this week, but spirits were very very high after a massive win for the team and a great last home game! Our players player was awarded to Naomi this week - a very well deserved win after a stunning performance that displayed some silky skills and never-ending determination and hard work! It's sad to be coming to the end of the season which has sure had it's ups and downs, but can't wait to go out on a high next week with you all!!