Promotion for Ladies 2s!

Henley travelled away to Maidenhead, who sat 3rd in the table on 42 points, compared to Henley who sat 2nd on 44. The game was a tense affair with both sides passionate and determined. To begin with the play was a little nervy, but Henley soon got into their stride. Some great passing down the right hand side of the pitch saw Henley win a succession of short corners, however these they were unable to convert and it was at the other end of the pitch that a break-away goal was scored. Henley were down 1-0, but not to be deterred, they again went on the attack. A free hit outside their attacking circle saw Midfielder Rachel Herbert take a quick free hit. She dribbled the ball the necessary 5 yards before slotting it through a gap to captain Sophy Rogers, who in a very fitting turn of events, wrong footed the keeper and pulled the score back level.

In the second half, Henley saw a lot of the play. They again won short corners and it was from one of these that they pulled ahead. The ball came out to Karen Walker on the left, whose shot to the far post was critically touched in by approaching forward Charlie Rogers. Maidenhead were not done however. They also went on the attack winning short corners. A number of times these were either blocked by defenders Becky Karver and Anna Wray or cleared by keeper Emily Channon. However, on one particular short corner, Maidenhead got a lucky touch and managed to level the score back at 2-2.

A draw would have been enough for Henley, but defending for the remainder of the game was never on the cards for them - so they went out on the attack! Again the ball was brought forward on a surging run by the midfield. Holly Verran, out on the right, found Herbert in the centre who, after beating a couple of players, managed to find striker Taminah Brown unmarked in the circle. In a fitting end to a season that has seen Brown develop into a goal scoring machine (and win Youth player of the Season), she took a touch with poise and slotted the ball home to seal the victory. A Henley win, 3-2 and promotion back to the Trysports Premier Division the season after relegation. A fantastic turn around helped by a 15 games unbeaten run.