Invicta Sharks II, BKA Cup
16-4 Chris Gubby (4), Joey Niblett (3), Rachel Knight (2), Sian Hunt (2), Josh Cockburn (2), Angharad Morgan (1), Helen Gubby (1), Remco Broekhuis (1), Lee O’Sullivan.
The opening round of the BKA Cup saw Dragons travelling to Milton Keynes for a rematch of last year, plus Invicta Sharks 2, the reserve side of one of the strongest teams in the country. The first game of the cup saw a youthful Invicta side put pressure on a very experienced Milton Keynes side, but after closing the game to 4-4, MK pulled away to win 9-6.
Then Dragons took to the field to play Invicta, and fell behind early to a long shot. But they gradually took control, moving the ball well and establishing a 6-1 lead by half-time, with Chris and Joey’s speed being the most difficult factor for Invicta to cope with.
In the second half, with Invicta tiring after 2 consecutive games, Dragons goals began to flow more freely. All of the girls deservedly made it on to the scoresheet, with Sian’s long shooting and Rachel’s direct running particularly effective. Josh came off the bench with 10 minutes left to score 2 penalties, one which he obtained after being flattened by a misjudged reverse blam.
A good win, as although there were some inexperienced and young players in the Invicta side, most of us can remember being given the run around by kids from National League clubs, and it’s a clear sign of progress that we can now beat them.
If anyone wants a more detailed report, they’ll have to find the list of all the goals, which were scrawled on the back of the directions to how to get to and from Milton Keynes!