A brace for Catherine Semon seals the three points for an impressive Ladies 1's

Havering Ladies faced the one team that had beaten them this season when they went away to Old Loughtonians 3s. Havering made a slow start and survived several early scares as Loughts earned themselves a series of penalty corners. Good defending from Sue Harwood, Steph Prowse, Catherine Semon and Leah Carter and keeper Tamara Bailey prevented them from taking a lead. Havering then began to settle and started to pass the ball around. Lauren Earle and Amelia Acreman made some probing runs down the wings putting pressure on the defence. Gaps began to appear and Catherine Semon and Vicky Lynch both went close but Loughts cleared well. Emma Isherwood put Lynch's through ball just wide of the post and soon after Acreman forced a great save from the Loughts keeper as her shot seemed destined for the top corner. Half time saw the teams go in without a score. Havering knew they could exploit the space they were creating in the middle of the pitch if they passed the ball quickly and the second half saw them do just that. Sue saw Emily Gilkes-Tarsey in space on the by-line, passed and Gilkes Tarsey squared the ball across where Catherine Semon was running in; 2 taps of the ball and Havering took the lead. Hollie Dawkins and Wendy Schofield began to move up the pitch, closing down the space for Loughts to run into and supporting the midfield. Havering increased their lead when Catherine Semon intercepted a forward pass about 10 metres inside the Loughts half and was able to run unchallenged into the circle. As the keeper ran out Catherine Semon calmly (although internally panicking!!!) hit the ball well to see it fly past her into the net. Havering looked confident to take the 3points but being Havering decided to make it tense for the supporters and with 7 minutes to go were unlucky to concede a scrappy goal. However they pulled together and held on for a much needed win which keeps them right in the hunt for promotion. Let's hope we can maintain that level of form and passing for the remaining games of the season.