Match reports - March 15, 2008

The 2nd XI secured their South Open Surrey Area - Division 1 status with a 4-0 win over Wanderers which means that as other results went our way, we cannot be relegated. So tight is the league that we could finish fifth if we win our last game. The 1st XI, with nothing to play for, went down 3-5 at Old Midwhitgiftians, and the Ladies turned in a below-par performance to lose 1-3 to Richmond. The 3rd XI, already relegated, had hoped to end James Armitage’s captaincy on a high but instead crashed to a 3-9 loss at Reigate Priory. The Vets battled to a 1-0 win at St Albans.

2nd XI 4-0 Wanderers
A result that has ensured safety with a game to spare, and a victory in two weeks time could mean a top half of the table finish. It was another cracking performance (13 points now from a possible 15) and perhaps a realisation that we should have been competing at the other end of the table all season!

We did start slowly and Wanderers created the first real chance, superbly saved by a combination of Mike and the crossbar. It was the wake up call we needed and Neil converted a short corner variation - apparently the shot was going 3 feet wide before a defender's foot intervened. A second from Mark soon followed and we switched to cruise control waiting for the half time whistle.

After the break we upped the tempo again and created a succession of short corners, but sadly it was the one part of our game not firing. Open play though was and Mark scored a blistering second, firing into the far corner from the top of the D. Moments later he was guilty of hat-trick avoidance, pushing wide when faced with an open goal, however made up for it by slipping a deft pass to David who finished clinically. Another good performance, with most of the team enhancing their reputations from the solidity at the back through the marking and creativity in the midfield to the finishing up front.

Crucially we need to build on our 2008 performances next season. We have the makings of a very good side that should be competing to win the league, not just stay in it, but that will take a higher level of commitment than evidenced this year. If we can maintain the solid backbone of the team we have put out the last 5 games and perhaps even get to practice occasionally we would be off to a good start! Paul Acutt

Ladies 1-3 Richmond
We went into the match having not lost a game since just before Christmas. With two matches left we wanted a strong finish to the season and to try and move up a place or two in the league. We were missing Tux in the centre of defence but at least we had Katy in goal as last time we played Richmond we were missing her and two other defenders! We were sure we could do better this time around!

We started off one short and a bit disorganised but were soon up to 11 players and had settled down a bit. Possession was fairly even but Richmond were doing a good job of hanging around our backs and switching alot which lead to some confusion in the defence. Fifteen minutes in a shot from the top of the D took a deflection into our goal and we were 1-0 down. To be fair not an awful lot we could have done about it. We tried to get back into the game and Dora had a couple of shots go just wide of the post, it could easily have been a level score. May and Nikki were making some great runs on the right as always dribbling around players and sprinting down the wing to put a couple of crosses into the circle, but we just couldn't get on the end of them. Another Richmond attack and a couple of penalty corners awarded against us which we managed to defend comfortably - it wasn't Richmond's day for short corners. But more pressure from Richmond and before long they scored another goal, again another deflection into the back of the goal. 2-0. We had a couple of shorties but like Richmond had no luck and went into half time 2-0 down but not with heads down.

Three minutes into the second half and we were three down after a scramble in the D, a defender kicked the ball into Katy and the rebound was slotted home with ease. We were determined to try and pull it back. Our defence of Muriel, Sarah and George had now got the Richmond's forwards well under control and Rosie was doing a great job of mopping up any loose players, intercepting the ball and then moving it forwards. Nina was doing a great job of distributing the ball around and we started playing our game of hockey, short sharp passes, and we were much more in control, working as a team moving it around the back and moving it forwards as a unit and supporting each other. Richmond were still putting pressure on us though and saw a shot (that everyone thought was going wide bounce off the post and curl backwards toward the goal line with a Richmond player diving towards it. Katy dived to her left, full stretch and made an excellent save.

Although by this point it looked extremely unlikely we were going to get a result we held our heads high battled on continuing to attack hard. And the perseverance paid off. A quick free hit taken by Sarah H to Jax swept into the circle towards the goal and came off first Dora then to Anna who finished it off. We had at least got one back and that could have been two but Jackie was inches from turning in a superb cross.

The match ended 3-1 and Richmond probably deserved the win but it was a brave performance from us, we kept our heads up and gave it 110% until the final whistle. Although we lost the match and our mood reflected that, it was in no way a performance to be ashamed of. Jackie Joyce