Varsity 2025: First-half dominance earns Warwick Women’s Hockey comfortable win

Warwick Women’s Hockey played their part in the university’s Varsity success on Saturday, securing a 5-1 victory over Coventry Women’s Hockey in a game that was over as a contest before half time.

Westwood’s water-based pitch provided the venue, with both teams accumulating an assembly of noisy spectators some half an hour before play commenced. Coventry’s playing side arrived as one, and wasted no time setting about their warmup. In the home dugout, there was a justifiable casual feeling to the tie. After victory in their last 34 Varsity encounters, Warwick Women had cause to be confident.

At kick off, the weight of that record seemed to dawn on Coventry Women almost immediately. Warwick seized a misplaced pass from the centre spot and were firmly on the front foot from the first whistle. Entrenched in defensive stations around their penalty area, the away side had no option but to resist waves of red and black for almost the entirety of the first half.

Warwick Women continued to take the game to a shaky Coventry side

Coventry were unable to keep their heads above water for long. A clever pass through the legs of one defender allowed for Nika Bezchi to fire the ball across the box from close range. Felicity Bailey was on hand to dispatch into the bottom corner, and Warwick had lift off.

Off to a flyer, though far from satisfied, Warwick Women continued to take the game to a shaky Coventry side, calling the goalkeeper into action more than once in the opening ten minutes. It was Keya Shah who led the charge, first denied from close range, then shooting narrowly wide in the first penalty corner of the game. In fairness to Coventry, they remained resolute in defence, and were potent on the counter – an opportunity to equalise was blazed wide and over from a relatively dangerous position.

It would be Warwick who doubled their advantage however, as the third penalty corner found its way into the net – once again off the stick of Bailey – to make it two. The talented number nine would be made to wait for a potential hat trick, narrowly missing just moments after the second goal.

There was a party atmosphere inside the pitches among the home support

Coventry were increasingly struggling to find answers to Warwick’s dominance, and had just enough to deny Erin Brajou from close range as the penalty corners kept coming. Resistance, though spirited, was finally broken, as Bailey found the back of the net once again to make it three – although the goal could equally have been credited to a number of teammates who helped the ball over the line.

There was a party atmosphere inside the pitches among the home support, composed mostly of members of the hockey club, and the away side appeared increasingly frustrated despite some spells in Warwick’s half. A trip on Warwick’s midfielder by one of their players, met with ironic jeers from the away fans, summarised a first half with little to cheer.

Now fully in command of the game, Warwick Women kept pushing, and were rewarded for their efforts by an extended spell in the opposition’s half. Goalkeeper Niamh Smith, who had little to do in the opening exchanges, felt able to remove her pads and sub off whilst play was ongoing – though not before completing an impromptu cartwheel during Warwick’s fifth penalty corner.

There would be one more goal for Warwick before the interval. Grace Ardus found the net with a tidy finish, and the whistle was blown shortly after. Advantage Warwick; Coventry close to capitulation.

Tensions boiled over amongst the Coventry players

In spite of the score line, the 2nd half continued to provide entertainment for both sets of supporters.

Early in the half, Coventry enjoyed their greatest spell of dominance, earning a penalty corner that was greeted by the away support as if it were a goal. Following a tense wait as the Warwick defence retrieved their face shields from the opposite end of the field, some strong defending kept the score at 4-0. Adding insult to injury, no less than a minute later, a loose ball fell to Felicity Bailey on the edge of the box, feeding Grace Ardus who confidently extended Warwick’s lead via a powerful shot across the helpless Coventry keeper.

Fears that this may bring an end to the exciting tempo of the game were soon eased. Coventry maintained a strong team spirit and forced several penalty corners, the 4th of which resulted in a penalty stroke. Knowing this would be their best chance of the game to leave campus with a goal, the visitors made no mistake as the number 9 swept the ball into the bottom right corner.

Upon the final whistle, the Warwick side jubilantly celebrated a well-deserved 35th consecutive Varsity win

For the remainder of second period, neither team proved able to convert their chances, which were distributed fairly evenly in comparison to the domination of the first half. The most notable incident, surprisingly, proved to be a seemingly innocent Warwick injury to Ardus. Growing increasingly frustrated that their good play hadn’t translated into more goals, tensions boiled over amongst the Coventry players, venting frustrations at the officials that the game couldn’t continue whilst Ardus was being treated.

Following the Coventry number 4 being warned for her verbal aggression, the Blues then attempted to restart play before the whistle had blown, heightening tensions amongst the officials, fans, and players. This anger became more evident on the field in the closing periods, as whilst Warwick again confidently continued without a goalkeeper for an extended period, Coventry, involuntarily, also went down to 10 players following the cynical prevention of a fast paced Warwick break.

Upon the final whistle, the Warwick side jubilantly celebrated a well-deserved 35th consecutive Varsity win, marking a highlight in a varied season that has seen limited BUCS success for Warwick 1s, but some stronger results in the Midlands Women’s Division 2 East. The enthusiasm on display at Westwood made for an excellent day at the club, and an exciting affair for the neutral.