A hat-trick from Bara Kavanova and two goals from Toni Catlow helped Brighton & Hove to a resounding 7-0 win over East Grinstead 2s at Blatchington Mill on Saturday as they kept up their chase for a top six finish in the South East League premier division.

Bara Kavanova reports: "On Saturday the first team was yet again weakened by Covid and we were missing our amazingly playing centrebacks and our coach. Luckily the captain's partner is a hockey geek and he agreed to help out on the sideline (in exchange for an Easter egg!). Thank you Luke.

The plan was to play with the same intensity as last weekend against Sevenoaks. Right at the start we had most of the possession and didn't have to wait too long for the first goal; after 10 minutes Amelia scored a screamer and put us in front. From there we were banging on the goal to get another in but EG's goalie managed to keep us out with some really good saves.

Bara then decided to take it upon herself, dribbled into the D and slid the ball inside the goalpost. From there we were completely in control giving the EG goalie a hard time. Just before half time, during another short corner, Toni's deflection on the post made it more comfortable for us.

In the second half, EG had a few more people coming in to help, but we gave them no chance. After a shot was going wide from the top of the D Toni, again well prepared on the post, tapped it in. We then listened to the recommendation from the bench about a short corner and after a combination of Bara - Emily - Bara we made it 5-0.

Hungry for more goals to improve our goal difference, in a muddle in front of EG goal Bara squeezed another one in. It all came to an end with a short corner that Emily struck from the top and absolutely smashed it, making the final score 7-0.

Next game is Epsom away, very important points if we want to keep our sixth or higher place.

MoM - Bara, aka Big Baz.
DoD - Katy (falling over in the D for no reason).”

Hailsham 1s 1
BHHC 2s 2

Shelley Formstone reports: “The 2s secured their second victory in a row on Saturday against a feisty Hailsham team hungry to take another three points from Brighton.

Arriving half an hour before pushback, due to the A27 closure, did not deter Brighton from getting out of the blocks quickly and dominating play from the start with their accustomed relentless style. Approaching half time the two sides were still at deadlocks and it took a smart move from Brighton to finally get into the D, with youngster Elodie getting the ball over the line for 1-0 to the delight of the visitors.

Going into the second half Hailsham were fighting hard to get back into the game with some strong challenges. It wasn’t long before they put the Brighton defence under pressure and managed to sneak an equalising goal.

Brighton turned on their composure as Hailsham started to get riled and did everything they could to gain an advantage. This resulted in them eventually going down to ten players after they pushed the ball away at a Brighton free hit.

Soon Brighton capitalised with Juliette getting an outcome in the D with a penalty corner. Shelley pushed it to the near post where it was pushed away by the Hailsham goalkeeper into the path of Juliette, who slotted it away for 2-1.

Brighton managed to hold off more and more Hailsham attacks with a tight closing 10 minutes. However they were determined not to let Hailsham through and took it to the final whistle with a great win against a higher placed side.”

BHHC 4s 9
Southwick 0

Christine Cawte reports: “Currently sitting second in the league table, the 4s approached Saturday’s game against Southwick with passion and determination to take silver in the league just below the 3s.

As the sun beat down, the 4s arrived at Steyning Leisure Centre where Georgie almost ended up poolside during swimming lessons in search for the non-existing changing rooms. Instead a team talk in a field between rounds of duck, duck, goose would have to suffice. With Al-Webb in charge of the subbing and a range of supporters pitchside, we were confident for a win.

Straight from the whistle, the 4s dominated the game. Within the first minute,, an excellent diagonal pass across the D found Wan secure our lead - this would be just the start of our goals this Saturday.

The game was not without its drama when a short corner for Brighton saw a Southwick supporter start a war of words with the umpire. A quick bit of advice from Georgie of ‘send her off’ saw the umpire banish the pensioner to the outside of the gate before she reappeared when his back was turned like a persistent jack-in-the-box.

Not long after, a cross from Wan saw Christine sneak the ball past the goalie and onto the back board. Not content with two goals, the 4s pushed for more. Our defence line was absolutely impenetrable and denied any small chance of a counterattack. Our well-drilled transfers and attacks down the wings piled extensive pressure of Southwick’s tiring defence. The space and time we had on the ball enabled Briggsy, Rosie, Georgie, Gemma and Abby to press higher. The results came thick and fast.

Making her adult game debut, Orla demonstrated poise and control down the wing. She fought for every ball and was rewarded with her first goal taking us to 3-0 at halftime when the memo was to score another three goals in the next half. In reality, we scored another six!

Battling hard in the middle to drive the ball forward, Liv, Becca, Bish and Postie dispossessed Southwick time and time again before driving it forward into the D themselves. In fact, Liv rewarded her terrier attitude to chase every ball with leaving 15 minutes early to return a hired car.

Another goal by Christine ignited Cressie’s hunger for goals; this was satisfied by a hat-trick in quick succession including stealing Christine’s goal on the line ‘just to make sure’ and an outrageous reverse flick into the top left corner. Incensed by this, Postie claimed a goal of her own when she smashed a shot so hard it ricocheted off the backboard and back onto the pitch.

At this point, neither team were sure of the score as the whistle blew during the 4s’ short corner. As the team set up for a last attack, DoD Georgie began shaking the hands of several confused Southwick players. Once reminded that the game was still in play, a range of shots in the crowded D saw Gemma score her first goal taking us to a blinding victory of 9-0.

Special mention to Abbie in goal who travelled all the way to Steyning - risking being caught behind the 70 metre convoy - to not touch the ball once. Even more impressive was that Abbie received two MoM nominations for her troubles. The MOM crown, however, went to hat-trick Cressie for her goal hungry attitude.”

BHHC 5s 3
Worthing 1s 0

Match report by Poet Laureate Kate Dawkins:

"Well hello there team, I don’t really know what to write
It’s all a bit emotional so I do hope you had a good night
I’m gonna keep this match report all about the game
Because the end of season write up will be all about our fame.

So did we think that Worthing would give us a little fright?
Naaaaa, we were all over them ending our season bright
We are the invincibles, the team that hasn’t faltered
Because we played our usual game and nothing was really altered.

Our first goal came with lots of pressure on their stern defence
It bounced in over the line, it really was immense
Alas the half time breather came, we had a little natter
I ate way too many fruit pastilles which only made me fatter.

The second half resumed we needed to get our flow
We had a lot of support today so wanted to put on a show
Alas one of our short corners finally crossed the line
It trickled in off KK’s stick, it was the time to shine.

Worthing applied the pressure, but made a mistake at the back
So we capitalised on their misfortune with an epic attack
I don’t really like to write anything about me
Let’s just say I scored a goal and then we were up by three.

Finally the whistle blew to end our gracious run
It’s difficult to put into words so let’s just raise a thumb
A little tip of the hat to our captain for forgetting all the balls
And hats off to Marianna who's probably been climbing the walls.

There was also a super sub performance from someone who ran a half
I’m sure she didn’t want to play and was only having a laugh
A huge big thanks to all the cheering from the side
It’s nice to have the support who came along for the ride."

Other results
Honeybees 1s 1 BHHC 6s 2
BHHC 7s 1 Lewes 4s 6
Middleton 3s 0 BHHC 8s 5