Calypsos opened the GU16 T2 competition with a convincing win over an overwhelmed Tulse Hill & Dulwich (TH&D) under the autumn sun at the Alleyn’s School Sports Ground.

Despite Surbiton (in white) starting the match with two drafts from a thin squad, Woods, our coach, rotated the team effectively to size up TH&D and pocketed the opportunities throughout the match. As early as the first minute, the whites served the opposition a warning with their goalie saving from Frost-Chester’s hit following Crowley’s cross from the left. The next attack saw Frost-Chester turn to provide Kubale a pass across the D to open the score. TH&D struggled to deal with the whites’ press from the flanks and conceded a short corner that Henkes struck perfectly to double the lead in the later stage of quarter.

The whites retained their tempo with Crowley testing the opposition shortly after the restart. She took the chances and rewarded with the second coming by striking through a crowded area (3-0). Some crisp passing from the middle of park opened up TH&D’s defence but Crowley missed the chance to add to her tally as McHarg drove the ball into the D. Again the ball was found wandering as Lam Fuentes & Dunsire Moore repeatedly tested the opposition’s right flank in the remaining quarter.

Blair, our goalie, was called upon to make a save for the first time in the match after the half time interval. This didn’t spare the team’s blushes with a lapse of concentration from the whites’ central defence saw TH&D cut their deficit to three shortly afterwards. However, the four goal margin was quickly restored after Watson capitalised on the rebound off Henkes’ drive off the short corner that was won and injected by the former.

The following eight minutes saw Henkes deliver a feast of four well executed goals that were characterised by precision and power. Two well struck short corners complemented another two well-worked team goals to put this contest beyond any doubt. An extraordinary achievement with another five-goal haul by Henkes. The finale was topped off with an opportunistic strike from McHarg.

A good day in the office for the opening match of 26-27 season. Woods and the team should be proud of the fluidity and intensity of their play but rest assured there will be further challenges ahead for the first phase of this competition. Next up is away to London Wayfarers in Round 1 of the EH T2 Cup.

Final score: 9-1

Goal timeline: 2-0 (Q1), 1-0 (Q2), 2-1(Q3), 4-0 (Q4)

Scorers: Crowley, Henkes (5), Kubale, McHarg & Watson