CROYDON & Old Whitgiftian Ladies hockey club played Amersham & Chalfont on Sunday in the third round of the HA Vase.
Croydon fielded as strong a team as they could muster against the table-toppers in the Trisports League Premier 1 Division, two divisions above Croydon.
Croydon felt their opposition probably expected to crush the underdogs, but on this day they severely underestimated the gladiatorial spirit from the Croydon ladies, hungry for victory and ready to commit everything to the cause.
With a solemn cry of 'None shall get past', Croydon tackled, ran, pressed and defended like their lives depended on it.
The determination causing Amersham & Chalfont's spirit to break and begin to make their own mistakes as Croydon refused to let up the pressure.
However, neither team could break the deadlock, and at the end of hard fought 70 minutes with the score at 0-0, tired legs were spared extra-time and went straight to the torture of penalty flicks.
Sharon Burke made two excellent saves and captain, Hannah Duncan, scored what turned out to be the winning flick in a nail-biting finale to a great encounter, Croydon winning 3-2 on penalties.
Croydon & Old Whitgiftian Ladies progress on to the quarter-finals of the Vase versus Stafford Ladies on March 9.
