Women’s 4s 0 - 1 Spencer 3s (A)
By Lisa Clarke
It was an early Saturday morning when Surbiton W4s made the trip to Spencer for what promised to be a lively encounter. The day started off in classic W4 style with messages coming in and all eyes on who's going to get DOD - first up was Lisa whose husband managed to drive off with her stick (clearly more attached to it than she was), Herbie forgot her socks, Maddie was running late, Freya was fretting over parking and Stacey wasn’t actually seen until pushback. But despite the chaos, and lots of runnings for DOD we all arrived in good spirits and got stuck into our warm up in the sunshine.
From the first whistle, it was a tale of two halves. Surbiton were on top, stringing together some silky passes that had Spencer chasing shadows. We pressed into their circle early and often, but their goalkeeper was pulling off save after save to keep us out. Herbie, Emily and Stacey dominated the midfield with calm control, while Freya S charged up the pitch like a rocket, linking with Lisa and Swindell to carve through the Spencer defence. Emma’s speed kept their backline busy, but no matter what we threw at them, the scoreboard stayed stubbornly at 0–0.
At the back, Becca, Maddie, Scar, Lara and Freya P were a cool wall of composure, calmly sweeping away the few Spencer breakaways that snuck through. Rotations were smooth, legs were fresh, and by halftime it was still goalless.
The second half, however, saw Spencer wake up. They came out with extra pep, stepping higher and pressing harder. Herbie, true to form, wasn’t about to take prisoners, gliding past players left and right, leaving defenders looking like they’d forgotten which way was up, but unfortunately hitting shots anywhere but into the goal.
Defensively, Becca and Scar battled tirelessly, while Freya P worked her magic to get us back on the attack. Unfortunately, the umpire decided to add some drama of his own, awarding Spencer a short corner for a foot outside the D (for those keeping score at home, that’s not actually a thing). Thankfully, Spencer didn’t convert, saving Lisa from the temptation of giving the umpire a verbal red card (and herself a double DOD).
As legs grew heavy, Spencer capitalised and eventually slotted one past us. We kept pushing until the final whistle but just couldn’t find the net. Final score: a frustrating 1–0 loss.
Disappointing, yes, but the quality of play, teamwork, and relentless spirit showed plenty of promise. If we keep building on performances like this, the goals (and more wins) will come.