Forest thirds clinch title in dramatic last-day decider

Going into the deciding final outing, Forest sat one point behind Phoenix meaning only a win would see them take the title.

There was a false start when Phoenix took the hit off when it was Forest’s ball, but once the error was rectified Forest flew out of the blocks with welcome returnee Tilly Hird getting in on the early left side action.

Hird took on her opponents to play in Chloe Smith in the centre, who in turn played right to Marnie Nelson. Nelson got a great early cross in where strikers Claire Birkett and Freya Sugden were poised to shoot. The defenders cleared but at the expense of a penalty corner to Forest. C Smith hit out and the ball was then squared inside for Hird but her effort was blocked and cleared.

Forest earned two more penalty corners, but could not capitalise - their favoured routine of the short ball back to C Smith could not be used as two players blocked the route.

Phoenix had chances, too, with some powerful hitting from the D edge but their shots ran wide. Phoenix did earn a penalty corner, but Forest’s back line, led by Anne Smith, held strong. Fiona Morrison, at right-back, cleared to Nelson, who passed inside for Hannah Tofalos who carried forwards and slipped back to Nelson who crossed to Birkett. Birkett collected well and hammered in to put Forest one up.

The match was end-to-end with both teams determined to take the title. Phoenix got into the D and shot at goal, but A Smith, with her usual agility and never-say- die attitude, threw herself to the floor with a diving move to the left. The ball hit A Smith’s stick with a fine block but rebounded and hit her body on the goalline so a penalty flick was awarded to Phoenix.

Up stepped the Phoenix striker to flick the ball goalwards but fine goalkeeping from skipper, Jane Lofthouse, saw a brilliant left-handed block to her right and the half ended 1-0 to Forest.

Forest’s manager introduced fresh legs for the start of the second half as Phoenix pushed another striker forwards. Forest counteracted this by leaving a defender deep to support sweeper A Smith.

Phoenix were fired up and within five minutes had levelled. Spurred on by their goal 15 minutes later they had a penalty corner which they converted with a worldy of a strike to put them 2-1 up.

Forest’s team spirit then shone through and with their roaring supporters on the side line they rallied well. Morrison to Tofalos, Tofalos to C Smith, C Smith to Hird, Hird back to C Smith who struck from the edge of the D to score. However, the umpire had blown for a foul on Smith so the goal was disallowed and a penalty corner given. Forest did not convert, but kept on pressuring Phoenix with player-of-the-match Hird leading the charge.

The Forest manager took off A Smith to bring an extra striker on in the shape of Lara Berry and Phoenix were rattled by the speed of Nelson, Berry, C Smith and Hird.

It was no less than Hird, and Forest, deserved when she struck from the left of the D to put them level at 2-2 with just three minutes to play.

The supporters on the sideline were cheering Forest on to get the win, and from the back Morrison hit to C Smith, she dribbled forwards and linked with Sugden, who hit to Berry, then Berry to Birkett who got her shot off well, the keeper cleared as far as Nelson who hammered the ball in to put Forest in the lead 3-2 to much rapturous cheering.

With hardly any time on the clock Forest’s manager then shored up the defence to see the last seconds out for an unbelievably hard-fought win that gave the thirds the championship.

With only two games left, the firsts needed something from their home game against Gloucester.

In the away fixture before the Christmas break, there had been plenty of action ending in a 10-goal thriller and the home fixture proved no less exciting.

Starting positively, Forest had the upper hand and within two minutes had scored the first goal. Freya Bythell fired it in and Charlotte Hartley made no mistake and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper for an early lead.

The action continued when, six minutes in, Gloucester received a green card for a bad tackle, Bythell was also green carded in the next minute for not being five metres from a free-hit, this was shortly followed by sister Liv Bythell being carded in the eighth minute for a dangerous tackle.

With both players being runners on the back line at penalty corners, Forest were feeling the early pressure and a ball into the left post from the edge of the D was blocked in the tackle by Jan Cormack, but was quickly followed up by the Gloucester attack to level the scores.

The opposition were struggling against midfielders, Liv, Freya, Hayley Baines and Hannah Metcalf but then came a couple of penalty corners to Gloucester - one of which they put in but only to be denied as the first shot was above the backboard. Solid defensive work by Ali Gill and Morgan Naylor helped keep the score at level pegging for a while.

Forest then went on the hunt again. A strong interception by Liv Bythell left her on the floor, but Metcalf picked up the pieces getting the ball forward once more. It was Anna Scott who, on receiving the ball on the halfway line, travelled and with a quick glance slipped a perfect ball through to Hartley whose speed left the defenders for dead and her sweep around the goalkeeper made the goal look effortless and put Forest 2-1 up at the break.

There was positive forward play down the wings by Metcalf and Amelia Hatton, who was cutting in on the left and troubling the defenders with her stickwork. But Forest could not quite get close enough to goal.

In the third quarter, Gloucester put the pressure on, scoring a goal in the 45th minute, at the left post, to level once again at 2-2.

There was some great play on the left in the second half, Sam Parker feeding the ball out to Baines who in turn laid the ball off to Steph Bedford and Hartley up front. Bedford picked the ball up and drove it into the D, forcing Gloucester into the tackle and gaining a penalty corner but the keeper saved, denying Forest a chance to go in the lead again.

Quickly-taken free-hits just outside the D by Liv Bythell were also making an impact, but Forest were still not able to find the finish. Within two minutes, Gloucester scored twice and Forest needed to pick up the pieces, now being 4-2 down.

A huge effort into the fourth quarter saw Scott getting the better of her opponents with great stickwork. A fantastic run by Freya Bythell took on four players around the top of the D culminating in the goalkeeper having to pull off a diving save after being targeted with a reverse-stick sweep at goal.

Another penalty corner to Gloucester at the other end, really stretched the play but this time it was saved by Izzy Tuck, who had an amazing game marking an ex- England international out of the game and giving Gloucester a real uphill struggle.

Back in Forest’s attacking D, they had another penalty corner and Freya Bythell struck the ball hard giving Forest a lifeline in the 62nd minute, making it 4-3.

The last-ditch effort in the remaining three minutes forced coach Ian Bythell to take off the goalkeeper and put on an 11th outfield player but the experienced Gloucester side took full advantage and fired a ball up into their attack and a neat one-two saw them in on goal with defenders left picking the ball out of the net. Gloucester saw the lead out until the end of the game.

It now all comes down to the last game of the season for the firsts, needing to beat third-placed Buckingham away and relying on Leicester firsts to lose to keep them out of the relegation zone.