After the marathon driving and a luxurious team meal, it was no surprise to discover that many had slept soundly from the exertions of the previous day. However, the recorded evidence suggests that one non-playing member of the touring party enjoyed her sleep better than the rest of us. Don't worry Mrs X, your secret is safe with all the team who heard the recording of how well you slept. An end of season award for best snore, I mean score, is in the bag.

Another very warm day saw us take on Orkney in the second round of the cup. The winners of last season's District Cup taking on the Plate holders. Perhaps we should not have been surprised by the excellent entertainment that followed. Without doubt, Orkney provided us with our toughest match of the season in what was a thrilling encounter full of enterprising, attacking hockey played at top speed.

The first quarter was goalless but both sides created chances and won corners. However both keepers were in good form as they each made excellent saves. The end to end nature of the encounter meant is was unwise to avert your gaze from the pitch. Hard tackling, sometimes a little too hard, and speedy passing showed the desire of both sides to win the match to have the chance of avoiding Watsonians in the next round.

The second quarter was a tough one for us as Orkney dominated play. They should have scored from an early corner but somehow deflected the ball high over the bar when it was easier to score. That was followed up by a shot hitting the post. We were under almost constant pressure, although a great break saw Annie Anderson go wide. The match swung back to the other end as Ava made another fine save before we conceded a corner. Orkney capitalised on the corner to take the lead and stop our run of clean sheets. Two minutes later, Caitlin Macintosh seemed to be harshly penalised when making a strong tackle and was shown a green card. I am not quite sure of the debate that followed, but I think Caitlin made a "polite" enquiry of the umpire as to whether other card colours were available, at which stage he decided that yellow matched her kit colour rather than his original green. Despite our reduction in numbers, Susan Rome had a triple strike, all of which the keeper saved before we won a corner that led to another failed attempt at goal. In some ways, we were pleased to finish the corner only one down.

The third quarter saw the match mood return to parity as the game swung from end to end. Unlike the first half, created chances were fewer in number as both sides fought for dominance. Annie came close again and Ava made another fine save, but neither side had the same fluency in attack.

The final quarter began well for us as we equalised in the fourth minute. Susan hitting the back of the net with a very sweet reverse hit. The heat was taking its toll on both sides, but our superior fitness meant we were first to loose balls and we were stronger in the tackle, so we showed our usual final quarter dominance. But despite that we couldn't score. Our penalty corner routines were flopping and making life too easy for the islanders. It was going to take something special to change the game. As we moved into the final ten minutes, it was clear something special would be required to clinch the victory. Sometimes that something special needs triggered. While it is customary in some sports to exchange shirts with an opponent, that normally takes place after the final whistle. Iona's marker was marking her so tightly it did seem to wanted to being that tradition forward to before the final whistle. The feisty encounter brought the intervention of the umpire but more importantly it stung Iona into life as she controlled the game. Everything was going through Iona who was causing mayhem in the Orkney defence. With only a couple of minutes remaining, Iona's impact was critical. She picked up a pass and drove into the 23, she found Susan whose delicate pass put Annie into space. There was still plenty to do, but Annie rounded the keeper and put the ball into the empty net to clinch the victory. The game closed out with EHC controlling possession and Susan having one final effort saved.

A pulsating match concluded by a wonderful goal. A great performance by Orkney in taking us to the wire and it is a shame they are unable to take their place in the league structure, as they would be worthy opponents. Despite Ava's and Iona's efforts at opposite ends of the pitch, today's player of the match goes to Niamh John. Niamh held the team together when we were under pressure and was moving constantly between the lines drawing opponents away from our passing options. All this while feeling under the weather.

Comedy - oh yes. She's back, the Queen of the Quip, the Princess of the Pun, the Empress of the Embarrassing. Imagine the scene in the team's luxurious base, the Inverness Travelodge. "I have a booking for tonight, the name is Yip. Yip, Yip. Y-I-P, Katherine Yip. Yes I have the booking details here, definitely the Inverness Travelodge. Oh, could you tell me if the Holiday Inn is far from here?"

Thanks to Katherine and all the other drivers over the weekend, whether making the whole trip or only one leg. Your help was invaluable, as always and it was smashing you could eat with the team last night. But a special well done to our 18 players over the weekend, who did the business.