Women’s 6s 2 - 1 Barnes 4s (A)
By Ffion Church
It’s been a while but I’m back ending the season as I started - DOD.
Surbi 6s faced Barnes 4s away, where a win would give us a very slim chance of avoiding relegation.
Some turned up raring to go, others (me) severely hungover with Pink Pony Club blaring hoping a coffee run would substitute a good night sleep. Apparently a cold brew is coffee and not another word for an iced tea - not quite the stomach settler I had hoped for.
Sinead (tied DOD) was gifted with a new ball bag by Fee - slightly late into the season, but great prep for next year. Excitement for the new ball bag as well as Saturday hockey coming to an end meant the team had never seen Sinead so happy.
The first half consisted of no goals, which will come as no surprise as apparently the 6s can’t score. The half was a lot of back and forth with the only key moment being my fall which secured me DOD for the last time this season. I would argue my best fall of the season (there’s been a few)… to paint a picture - it rivals many of Sabrina Carpenter’s “have you ever tried this one?” poses.
After a strong team talk and motivation from captain Sammy and coach Kieran, the second half was under way.
Kieran was as vocal as ever on the side, with his most use phrase being “easy pass Niamh” which was met with “yes, but where is the easy pass?”. A lighthearted moment in a game full of tension.
With some great link up play from Lila and Tish, the ball made its way down the pitch and to Iona who, as per usual, left defenders scrambling to catch up with her. Iona with a lovely reverse hit into the D found Tarryn for a signature tap in to make it 0-1.
Barnes came back firing and following a scrappy short corner found themselves back level, 1-1.
The pressure was definitely mounting at this point with both sides desperate to find a winner. We were then awarded a short corner following some miscommunication between the Barnes defender and keeper. Iona converted making it 1-2.
The end of the game approached, with Barnes looking for the equaliser. With some dodgy umpiring decisions and subsequent head losses, the final whistle couldn’t come soon enough.
Barnes had one final attempt to find an equaliser and shatter all our hopes when they were bizarrely awarded a penalty corner with 20 seconds left to play - an umpiring decision we are still baffled by. Fortunately, super captain Sammy cleared the shot and the game finished 1-2 to Surbiton.
Martha was awarded POM following her incredible performance in goal - coming out on top in a 1v1 being THE moment of the game.
The win was celebrated in true fashion at the Race Night with Sinead VERY invested. Tish, Becky and I, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on - who knew horse racing was so confusing.
We now face an anxious wait to learn our fate in London Division 3 and look forward to the start of summer league.