Women’s 2s 2 - 1 Canterbury 1s (A)
By Amber Walton
Polo Farm - Saturday 24th February
The Women’s 2s embarked on a long journey to Polo Farm to face Canterbury, but the distance nor the brutal weather conditions were not going to dampen their spirits ahead of the game. The almighty 2’s were determined to continue their winning streak.
The match began with Surbiton off to a strong start, we maintained possession for the majority of the first ten minutes by sticking to our game plan and executing some brilliant 3 v 2s around Canterbury’s defence. Izzy Yonge showcased her flair, breaking away on multiple occasions. However, Canterbury's goalkeeper made a series of crucial saves, denying Surbiton an early lead.
Despite the goalkeeper's efforts, Surbiton managed to break Canterbury's clean sheet with a stunning corner conversion. Noah executed a perfect drag flick, sending the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, momentum was now on our side. The team continued to build on this positivity, pushing forward and getting height at optimal times, whilst also ensuring our counter cover was on form to protect us from those crash balls. However, the back post taps ins were still denying us another goal as they continued to sail past the back post. Nevertheless, Surbiton held a 1-0 lead by maintaining the majority of possession throughout the game.
Just to liven things up once again, Amie had another moment of flair and scored an absolute dream of a finish deflecting it into the high netting leaving the score 2-0 to Surbiton. Canterbury were looking to capitalise and take a chance prior to half time and were looking for more threatening opportunities in the D by being rewarded with a few penalty corners. However, this gave Surbiton's PCD team a moment to shine, we were putting everything on the line and were extremely gritty in these moments. Canterbury hit from the top, Surbiton managed to keep the ball out just before the whistle blew for half time.
Half Time: The flood lights were now on, Surbiton meant business and were looking to continue with the lead. Both teams seemed to be more evenly matched in this quarter and Canterbury were continuing to keep our shots out whilst entering our D more frequently. Unfortunately, in the third quarter, Canterbury were awarded a stroke as we stopped the ball on the line on a PCD. The whistle had gone and Canterbury converted the stroke, placing the ball straight into the bottom corner, leaving it 2-1. The pressure was on, but the almighty 2s remained unstoppable, refusing to let the setback deter their spirits. We were determined to strive forward continue our winning ways. With some effective game management we managed to come out on top wining the game 2-1.
Congratulations to the entire team for putting in a tremendous effort throughout the match. Special mention goes to debutant Katie, who had a stellar performance. The ladies 2s displayed great teamwork, skill, and determination. We are now sitting 12 points ahead of Barnes and another win will make us league winners!