Surbiton Sloths 5 - 2 Epsom O35s (A, League)
By Sinead Goodden
A Storming Sunday and a Slothful Victory
The Sloths braved the elements of Storm Bert to face local rivals Epsom on a windy Sunday afternoon. Despite the challenging conditions, the Sloths emerged victorious in a match filled with drama, goals, and a few questionable decisions.
Apart from the weather, things were looking good for the Sloths at the start of Sunday. Charlotte had rallied the troops and got us squad of 13 which allowed her and Jane to take (another) Sunday off for their early festive commitments. But then drama unfolded…
1. Storm Bert delayed Pia’s husband’s flight and she was left without childcare. Then there were 12.
2. Jo failed to read the details on Teamo about the venue and put a question about the address in the chat leading to Ceci’s realisation that it wasn’t a home game after all. Despite lots of encouragement to turn up late Ceci couldn’t make it. Then there were 11.
3. Emma Dempsey put a message in the chat about the team’s tardiness… little did she know that she had been given an earlier meet time to ensure she was there on time.
Finally the match got underway in the high winds. Some inside knowledge from yours truly gave the Sloths a little over confidence in the first 10 minutes. It turns out playing Sunny in “roaming Charlotte role” didn’t really suit us. Epsom got off to a good start and won a short corner early on. Up stepped Epsom’s Ruth Payne, I had failed to warn Marlijn about her lethal striking from short corners, who slotted a bumpy strike passed the Sloths and Epsom were 1-0 up! The Sloths quickly resorted to their usual formation and order was resumed.
If I am honest, after the first Epsom goal, I have no idea how or when the goals came but I have learnt that nobody really remembers so you can make it up!
Beckie dominated the central midfield position and was well supported by Emily and Jo on the flanks. It was nice to see Emily challenge herself by playing on the right which she did successfully. Jo made some excellent interceptions to turn defence into attack. Emma Dempsey was a tireless worker, both defensively and offensively. Fee and Sinead rotated between left back and central defence stepping in front of their players and providing support for transfers all over the pitch. Sunny dictated and directed the play in front of her whilst finding herself in the attacking D on several occasions throughout the game! Marlijn made some cracking saves and had a stand out moment in a one-on-one with an attacker.
So now onto the forwards…where to start?! I will start with our POM – Izzy. She only played 20 minutes before twisting her knee (we think on her own stick?) which curtailed her match. The fact she only played 20 minutes and still won POM tells you just how well she was playing up until then. She showcased excellent movement and finishing. At some point in that 20 minutes she scored a goal.
Ruth… the person who was really deserving of DOD… spent the first half cracking the ball across the face of goal. There was nobody who was quick, willing or good enough to put in a dive to deflect them in. She repeatedly missed opportunities in front of goal because she didn’t realise she had more time and made a fantastic goal line save at the wrong end! We stopped counting in the end, it was just a dead certainty that she had earned herself DOD by half time. However, in the second half she was like a different player – she stopped cracking the ball across goal, laid some excellent passes off to teammates in the right place and genuinely looked like she might score.
Even though we were down to 10 players after 20 minutes we went into half time 3-1 up (we think). After some wise words from Beckie about having more time on the ball than we think we have, and some sweets, we headed into the second half buoyant. We scored another two goals…there were definitely two own goals at some point. In Beckie’s words “one of their defenders did a Roger Federer-esque smash into her own goal”. While the exact details of the goals are hazy, it is likely Sian got one at some point and maybe Ruth?! Sian’s efforts in front of goal were valiant, especially in the first half when she was in great positions, but just needed to be given a simple pass!
Epsom played some nice passing hockey, possibly as a result of their coach, who coaches with the “Find a Friend” philosophy. The fact we had ten players meant that they had several chances to score. Although this seemed to have passed Marlijn by when she asked me “Why are we overloaded?” to which I replied “That might be because they have 11 and we have 10.” (Surely deserved some DOD votes?). At 5-1 up Beckie thought she would make the game more exciting by pushing me up to CM and dropping back to defence. It turns out scoring is harder than it looks from the back despite all your team and even the opposition hoping you will score!
With the last play of the game Epsom won a second short corner and (there will be no surprise here) Ruth Payne stepped up and cracked the ball into the backboard again. The game finished 5-2.
Despite the competitive nature of the match, the spirit between the two teams remained friendly. Both sides played with passion and fair play thus making it an enjoyable afternoon for all involved.
Well done to POM Izzy.