LUSL London vs LSE (H)- 16/11/2023

LUSL London's first match of 2023/24 was held on a rainy day in Poplar. LSE arrived at the fortress with five men, and it became abundantly clear that their expertise in counting money doesn’t quite translate to counting water polo players. Not only were they two players short, there wasn’t a girl in sight - (I smell a walkover)! This, however, did not stop us from lining up for an intense match.

The first quarter began with Smaragda showing off her speedy swimming as she zipped down the wing for the swim-off. Our defence started off very rusty, seemingly it took us a while to work out how to play against a team of four. This was to be expected though as it was our first time playing together, plus under rather unusual circumstances for a LUSL match. Dimitrios scored a beautiful goal, with Adam right behind scoring another. It all got too much though when we were all left drooling as LSE’s goalie swims down to our two-metre line and scores. It was then that we realised maybe this wouldn’t be as easy as we once thought. 2 - 2.

In the second quarter, we graced Poplar with some of the finest water polo we’ve ever played. Steady passes and multiple attempts at goal, everybody got involved and we put on a display of real teamwork. Really quite an enjoyable sight! Eira put in a massive shift in defence, preventing their pesky number 9 from scoring. Preston slammed a lovely penalty right past their goalie. Brandon gave 100% as a driver and stayed tight to his player constantly. TAnnie made her water polo match debut and made some stunning passes! Our motto of “keep it close but have fun” was in full force; 5 - 4 to Barts.

The third quarter saw Harry make some excellent saves, literally a wall in front of our goal. Rory and Smaragda each scored sensational goals, both in the shallow end too! By this point, half of our team (6/12) had at least one major foul, so if that doesn’t tell you how truly enamoured with water polo everyone is, I’m not sure what will! Everyone was giving maximum effort. 7 - 6 to Barts

In the fourth quarter we focussed on getting back in defence and double marking their strongest players. Again, we put on a show of some flawless passing, and it felt like a proper water polo match (just pretend both teams had 7 players). Cole scored a brilliant goal, with Izzy scoring too. A last-second attempt at goal marked the end of a solid first game under pretty funny circumstances.

In a match where over half of the team scored and everybody was genuinely involved, the result does not matter. Overall, a really positive start to what is looking like a cracker of a season ahead.

(Despite the 10 - 11 result, due to LSE’s lack of gals, the W was still ours dw)

Player of the match: Preston, for some incredible shots at goal and demonstrating his great water polo knowledge

Goals:

Adam - 3

Preston - 2

Rory - 1

Smaragda - 1

Dimitrios - 1

Cole - 1

Izzy - 1