Our first win of the season - yeay - and so well deserved!

On a wild and windy afternoon at Emerson Park Academy, we put on an impressive display of team work and determination, much to the delight of our hardy parent supporters (hope the fingers and toes have defrosted by now Russ).

It took us a good 5 minutes to get into our stride at the start, partly as we struggled to get used to the extremely "dead" pitch surface. We then gathered momentum and went on to dominate for most of the rest of the game. As I walked off the pitch at half time I overheard two Upminster youngsters saying, in dismayed voices, "What's going on?" so I think we made an impression.

We had plenty of attacking chances and short corners (the injections for which proved challenging on the slow surface) but had to wait until the 27th minute for our first goal - a well-worked team effort that Maya ultimately popped in.

Upminster had obviously had a meaningful team talk at half time because they came out in the second with much more structure. This caught us out a little in the first five minutes and we conceded a scrabbly goal, after which we took ourselves in hand and readjusted to gain the upper hand again, playing with commitment (and I think stepping to meet the ball and get ahead of our oppo even more than we had in the first half).

Having been dominant for most of the game we were all determined to get the win this week but didn't let this distract us from our game strategy of keeping possession. Our patience eventually paid off in another well worked team goal, slotted in by Jemimah.

Daisy, at left mid, won our MoM this week, the reward for quite clearly and skilfully coming out on top in her many battles against her opposite number. Well done. I'd also like to praise everyone for all the great defending, passing and team work that went on this week. I particularly noted the slick linking up of Maya and Jemimah - an attacking double act to be reckoned with. The tireless and effective work of Sylvie and Mel in midfield also caught the eye.

I think we were also more effective in our defence this week. Upminster often resorted to the long hard whack up the pitch in an attempt to reach their higher forwards. We pretty much blocked all of these and then dispatched the ball effectively to re-launch our attacks.

Another special mention has to go to Nell, for her "double demon" save around the middle of the game. She stopped a great shot in mid air with right (I think ) paw, immediately followed up by a dive at full stretch to sweep the ball out of the reach of an on-coming attacker with her stick. Incredible!

Despite the wind and the pitch surface, it was an enjoyable game played in good spirit. Upminster were a friendly lot. I know they were missing a few of their key players so we'll need to be aware they may be stronger on the return leg.

Well done everyone! The few of us who went for teas were rewarded with an excellent cheesy chicken pasta in Upminster's splendid new clubhouse.

Jane