Ops travelled to struggling Burnt Ash needing a win to keep them in the hunt for promotion. The hosts set up to defend deep and frustrate from the start. That meant the visitors needed play smart and keep the ball moving and they quickly settled into a pass and move game plan. Sophie was dominant in the midfield, her precision pass to Phoebe opening up the defence but the keeper did well to scramble a clearance. 3's kept the pressure on, Dani collected the ball from Carris, and saw her shot blocked as the defending became increasingly desperate. The game was being played entirely in the Burnt Ash half although Ops were finding it hard to create clear cut opportunities in the congested D. Flick built on her impressive debut last week with another fine display in the midfield, and her running won the decisive penalty corner. Shaz was pressed into service as injector, and she nailed it with a perfect ball to Polly, who slipped it for Em to see her shot deflected into the roof of the net.

The second half followed the same pattern, constant attack from the visitors, while defensive unit of Baxter, Emma and Janman were largely untroubled. Ailla finally got a touch 10 minutes from the end, making a smart clearance from the hosts only circle entry. Everyone worked hard and there was some lovely passing from the defence through to the midfield, but Ops couldn't get that ball over the line and finished the game 1-0 up. Ops can expect a tougher assignment next week against Marden.