Henley applied early pressure through their attacking line, with captain Emma Buckham-Hedges, Chloe Lyons and Hayley Munt causing immediate problems up front. Strong midfield work from Kirsten Botha, Olivia Callaway, Ellie Roseff and Isabelle Woolfrey ensured the ball was moved quickly into attacking areas and this pressure paid off when Buckham-Hedges flicked a shot goalwards that struck a Phoenix defender’s shin pad. The resulting penalty flick was calmly converted by Chloe Lyons, who showed great composure to give Henley an early lead.

Straight from the push-back, Henley stayed switched on. Hayley Munt intercepted a pass in midfield and drove forward before slipping the ball to Buckham-Hedges, who made a beeline for goal. In trademark style, she executed a perfectly timed slide and reverse-stick finish to double Henley’s advantage.

Phoenix pushed hard to respond, but Henley’s defensive line stood firm. Jane Dench, returning after a break to have her baby Louie, showed that her stick skills had not deserted her, while Alyx Clarke also made several strong tackles. Sophie Miller impressed with skilful dribbling out of defence, and Georgie Grocock produced some excellent saves to keep Phoenix at bay.

Further energy came from the bench, with Bethan Lewis making an impact up front as a super sub, Sophy Rogers showing relentless running and tackling in midfield, and Isabelle Woolfrey adding solidity at the back. Despite a few momentary lapses and warnings for brash tackles and not retreating five metres at free hits , Henley managed to avoid any cards this week. Phoenix remained relentless and earned several short corners. Thanks to disciplined defending and more strong goalkeeping from Grocock, Henley initially denied them, although Phoenix eventually converted one opportunity to make it 2–1 at half-time.

The second half saw Phoenix defend well and limit Henley’s chances. Henley won their first short corner after Bethan Lewis dribbled skilfully into the circle and forced a foot. Chloe Lyons struck the resulting straight hit cleanly, but it drifted just wide of the post. Olivia Callaway was influential throughout the midfield, consistently breaking up Phoenix play, winning key tackles and distributing calmly to keep Henley moving forward and relieve pressure on the defence.

The home side continued to threaten, and in a standout moment, Hayley Munt receiving a lovely ball from midfield, threaded a ball through the centre to Lyons. Chloe took a touch past the keeper and dived to keep the ball in play - this time the ball ran over the back line — on another day, it would have been in the net.

Much to the spectators relief, Henley sealed the result late on. A pass from Lily Baker into the circle found Hayley Munt, who looked to have lost the ball over the baseline. Somehow, with one hand on her stick, she managed to keep it in play and swipe the ball goalwards. In a moment nobody can quite explain, it found its way past the keeper and into the net. 3–1 Henley.

Job done and their position at the top of the league still in place. Next week is a BIG game against second place Newbury and Thatcham.