Birmingham Women’s 1s were in superb form going into this huge clash with Loughborough 1s, having won the last five of their BUCs matches and were sitting joint-top of the league with Edinburgh. And it was to be a sixth straight BUCs win for Brum as they smashed six past Loughborough in this incredibly one sided encounter.
The early stages of the match were somewhat scrappy considering the quality of the two sides, as Loughborough in particular failed to string more than five passes together. However Birmingham were the team to break the deadlock, as roughly half-way through the first half, Erica Sanders scored with a sweet strike resulting from a penalty corner. And seconds later Brum had doubled their lead as Holly Hunt finished off a devastating move down the right wing, with a simple finish into the corner of the goal- leaving the Loughborough keeper, who had been playing admirably thus far, helpless as her side went into the half time break 2-0 down.
. @UOBHC W1s have taken a 2-0 lead over L'boro! They've dominated this one so far @UBSport @BUCSsport #BUCSWednesday pic.twitter.com/9ZwnfdHbpv
— BurnFM Sport (@BurnFM_Sport) December 2, 2015
Birmingham carried on from where they left off in the first half, carrying on their domination of possession, buoyed by the fact they lead 2-0 despite not playing anywhere near their best. They had an certain confident swagger around them as they began to ping the ball around, and it was not long before they beat the Loughborough keeper again, Hannah Martin, who was an attacking threat all game, and Katelyn Aitcheson scoring a goal each to double the home side’s lead to 4-0 with 20 minutes remaining.
Loughborough had no answers to this Birmingham barrage, as despite the fact the Lions took their proverbial foot off the pedal towards the end of the match, they were able to add two more goals. Steph Hale converting to make it 5-0, following some brilliant close control from Martin, allowing her to beat several Loughborough defenders. And Erica Sanders doubled her tally for the day, scoring a flick in the final minutes to put a cherry on top of the cake for Brum.
A massive win for Birmingham in what was anticipated to be a difficult fixture for them, but they did it with consummate ease, remaining unbeaten at fortress Bournbrook, and consolidating their spot at the top of the Premier A North Division.
Matt Bullin
Hockey – Women’s 1s vs Loughborough 1s by Burnfm_Sport on Mixcloud
