LUSL Barts vs IC 1s - 28/11/2022 (A)

BLWP 10 - 9 IC 1s

On Monday 28th November, LUSL Barts took on IC1s on home turf in Poplar. Having faced Kings in a close match only days before, the team was ready to work on new targets and raring for a win. Spirits were high as the team was joined by several LUSL London spectators who had come to show their support (and eat the maltesers brought by our lovely ref). 

After ref had enjoyed his brief splash around in the pool, the first quarter began. The starting swim-off was easily won by Tadpole Christian, who expertly flung the ball back to the rest of the team. With Sea Hare dominating in pit A, it was not long before he skilfully placed the first ball in the goal for Barts. IC1s were strong in this quarter, however this did not hold back our club captain Anglerfish, who smashed in the second goal. Back at our goal Water Aid was a calming prescence for the team, demonstrating excellent communication in man up and down situations, and repelling Imperial’s attempts at scoring. The score at the end of the quarter was Barts 2-4 IC1s.

The second quarter saw some of our tadpoles enter the pool. The first was tadpole Leiah, who was so fast and feisty on the wings that she regularly won battles against both the IC men and women. Marina Coil also put in a world class shift, continually echoing her name and stopping IC from getting the ball close to the goal. Tadpole Christian (unsurprisingly) scored in this quarter, sneaking a whopping 4 balls past the IC goalkeeper. After 3 more goals from IC1s, Barts began to identify their troublemakers and tighten the marking. Strong defence was seen particularly from tadpole Domi, who was such a force of nature that he whacked a player on the head and was sent out for 2 majors. Meanwhile Lil Sardine shone, as she gracefully swam from one place to another, consistently becoming a free player and allowing for fluid midfield transitions. Going into half-time, IC1s led with a score of 6-7. 

Half-time saw Barts discuss which players of the opposition were to be targeted, and double marking became a core part of play. Helsinki helped consolidate this play as she put in a great shift with double marking. Poonami also showed great determination and strength, fighting for each and every ball near him. This soon began to pay off when tadpoles Domi and Christian whacked in 2 more goals after some tremendous steals by Barney Bear. The tight Barts defence was really showing and the team saw smiles all around when we realised only 1 goal had been conceded this quarter, meaning it was now 8-8. 

By the time the final quarter came around, the Barts spirit was higher than ever. With Leech and Tadpole Eira charging in full speed, the defence on the wings was taken care of and several turnovers won us the ball. Tadpole Christian scored yet another goal, after which he and his opponent got so heated they were sent out together. Barts continued to hunt down Imperial and play in this quarter was honestly phenomenal- from communication to execution of man down and double marking situations. Going into the last minute of the game the score was 9-9 and the atmosphere was tense. It was kept tense until the last seconds, when Anglerfish SCORED THE GOLDEN GOAL! Barts had won the match 10-9! What a great end to the match this was, each and every player really out performed and played amazingly.

Player of the match: Anglerfish- for her golden goal and great hustle when she ended up in pit D, which she had never played before!

Final score: BARTS 10-9 IC1S