Despite the rain, it was an exciting start to the game as Marlow stole the ball from the Banbury push back and had their first goal scoring opportunity within 30 seconds of the whistle. Sadly it wasn't to be but Marlow battled on against a very experienced Banbury side. Some great attacking teamwork led to Marlow opening the scoring with a great sliding goal from Bev Blackburn. Banbury battled back and had chances of their own, but solid defending from Liz Tidy and goal keeper Alys Ramm denied the home side. Some great midfield play from Molly Griffiths earned her the man of the match at the end of the game. A goal from Katie Bailey put Marlow 2-0 up going into half time.
The second half was a different story, Banbury certainly battled back dominating possession in the midfield. A great run from Ella Brown set Bev Blackburn up for her second of the day. Banbury scored a well-deserved team goal after sloppy defending from Marlow allowed them to beat keeper Alys Ramm. Ella Tidy then put another on the team sheet for Marlow as she showed incredible skill to beat the Banbury defence, then a sweet strike into the corner sealed the deal. Anna Dicker converted a fifth for Marlow from a short corner strike. At the other end, Anna also managed to score a great deflection past her own keeper deciding the final score of 5-2. This lovely bit of skill also earned Anna team wally, and she was the first proud owner of the coveted potato fancy dress costume.
After a tough battle (it wasn't pretty!) Marlow have come away from a tight game with three points, hopefully we can play some better hockey against Wallingford back at Pound Lane next Saturday.