These blogs are meant to be about what is happening on the pitch, and not about my troubles as a photographer, but it tells a lot about the game if I recount my personal experience of this afternoon's meeting between Slough and Laren in their 3rd/4th place match in the Women's European Club Champions Cup.
I positioned myself at the end that Slough were attacking and I was virtually undisturbed for 35 minutes, and could almost have occupied myself with a good novel. Laren took a 1-0 lead from Carlijn Welton and that was the score at half time.
I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in the changing rooms, because the second half was a whole different game. This time I was at the end that Slough were defending, and that novel would have come in handy. The most striking thing about the second half was Slough's ability to neutralise some of Laren's big name players, such as Kim Lammers, Julia Muller and Naomi Van As - particularly the latter, who had a remarkably quiet game.
Despite everything, it came as a complete surprise - not least to Laren - when Slough's Lauren Penny equalised with just over three minutes left on the clock.
So we were into silver goal extra time, which heartbreakingly lasted less than three minutes. Van As suddenly found the form for which she is famous, to slam the ball past a helpless Becky Duggan in the Slough goal. Duggan had played a major part in keeping Slough in the game, so it is tragic that she could have not taken more away from this encounter.
So Laren take the bronze and Slough go home empty handed, with not even the chance of a second crack next year - Reading and Leicester will be England's representatives. The sun made one of its rare appearances this weekend, but not a sunny finish for Slough for such a brave effort. Some had predicted a slaughter of the innocents and I had sympathy for that point of view. It really does underline how much English hockey has improved over the last few years.
Tomorrow's proceedings open with the EuroHockey League 3rd/4th place match between Reading and Oranje Zwart, whilst the final of the Club Champions Cup follows with Leicester facing the Dutch Champions, Den Bosch. The weekend's grand finale will be the EuroHockey League finals between Club de Campo and the host club, HGC.
We hope to get images from Slough's match onto our pictures web site (www.hockeyimages.co.uk) some time tomorrow (Sunday).
