The 14 years between running out as a Braintree Hockey Club junior and scoring a vital goal in Great Britain’s quest for Olympic medals appear to have done little to have changed the character of Chloe Rogers.
Rogers opening her own London 2012 goal tally as Great Britain’s women beat Korea 5-3 at the Riverbank Arena to maintain their perfect start ahead of tonight’s third game against Belgium.
Having seen a 3-1 lead wiped out by the Koreans, the home side responded well and Georgie Twigg’s goal putting them back in front, but the victory wasn’t safe until Rogers fired in from close range.
And Andie Edwards, the man who coached her as a 13-year-old while her fledgling skills developed at Braintree Hockey Club, says he saw the same steely determination while she strutted her stuff on the Riverbank Arena pitch as he witnessed 14 years ago.
Edwards, who spent 15 years coaching youngsters at Braintree, said: “I watched Chloe with a great sense of pride and to see her score was wonderful.
“It is great to see her fulfilling the potential that we saw in her as a young player at Braintree.
“She was always a very steady player and I could still see that she plays in exactly the same way.
“You can see the concentration now that she always had back then and you’ll never read any emotions on her face when she is playing.
“She just gets on with it.
“From what I’ve seen, I don’t see any reason why the ladies can’t win a medal at the Games, but they must keep their energy levels and tempo steady-paced.
“There was a bit of a drop off at one point in that game against Korea and they must learn their lesson from that.”
For more on this story and all of the latest Olympic news, see Thursday's Gazette.
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