It was a very wet and windy start to the day and the Divas were off to meet Bognor white for the first time. It was also our first mid-morning kick off of the season so everyone could enjoy laying in bed a bit longer listening to the rain. When we arrived at the ground luckily the rain had stopped and the wind settled down somewhat which was good. The girls commenced their pre match routine and JB was treated to a nice warm coffee – thank you for that. 
The Divas were missing a number of players for this match so there was a few tweaks to positions for the line-up but we were set to go. Bognor started the livelier of the two teams and a fierce drive from distance saw them take an early lead. The Divas continued to struggle to find their usual pressing game with Bognor making the most of the time they were being afforded on the ball. On the odd occasion the Divas would be able to break the Bognor line and the pace of our attack was clear for all to see but sadly for the Divas the end product was missing in this half. Frustration levels were high on the side-lines, but not because of the score line – as always that is irrelevant. What was frustrating was the way we could not seem to find our rhythm. Half time came around and the Divas and coaches assessed the performance and recognised where things were being rushed or not thought through as we usually would do. We also decided that clearly additional sleep is not good for the Divas…..
A few personnel changes and we were set to go again. Having now woken up you could see the difference in the performance – our shape was stronger and the press was back – It was clear to see that this caught Bognor off guard and they were not comfortable with the pressure. We eventually got to reap the reward from this pressure and got a goal. This energised the Divas somewhat and you could see a return to our usual style of play. Bognor though were just to strong and had a good sized squad available so the constant fresh legs being introduced helped them go on to get another goal. Throughout the game it should be noted that both teams showed amazing respect and caring attitudes to each other. Every time a tackle went in and a girl was down the players instantly checked on each other’s wellbeing and at the end of the game player of the match was picked by the team for each team with a very strong three cheers by both sets of players. After the game the Divas sat down as a group to reflect on the match and consider what they will do differently at the next match when we meet our friends from Ashington.
JB felt really proud of the girls following this match, even though he had been grumpy with them for not playing their game the girls showed what a kind and caring group they are and took the time to recognise for themselves areas they could improve in. Bring on the next match where hopefully the Divas will be able to play their game once again.
After the game there was a lovely exchange between the manager of Bognor and JB complimenting each other on how amazing, kind and caring both sets of girls are – no wonder these 2 clubs jointly won a respect award last year! Smiles and happiness all round