Women's 1s 6 - 2 Hampstead & Westminster 1s (H)

Surbiton Hockey Club Women’s 1s faced Hampstead & Westminster at 2pm on Saturday in their final pre-season fixture ahead of the new season. According to Captain Josie Hippe preseason matches are, “Really important for ensuring the new players in the team are up to speed on the press and ready for the start of the season”.

The first quarter began with a Surbiton pass to Hampstead & Westminster. As the game started, Surbiton maintained possession well through the first five minutes before Izzy Petter quickly advanced towards goal. She then played a well-weighted pass to Maddie Axford, giving Surbiton their first shot attempt. However, they were unable to find the net after a block from Hampstead & Westminster’s number 16. This led to an attack from Hampstead & Westminster and a short corner awarded against Surbiton at the nine-minute mark, resulting in an excellent save by SHC’s first team goalkeeper Izzy Melbourne on debut.

Surbiton, having regained possession of the ball, swiftly secured an attacking short corner against Hampstead & Westminster ten minutes into the game, leading to a well-worked goal by Amy Costello to take the score to 1-0.

After the whistle was blown to restart the game following the goal, a quick Surbiton intercept was made and the team stormed back up the pitch. This triggered a clinical goal during free play at 13 minutes into the match by Ava Findlay, who was putting on a hockey masterclass, increasing the score to 2-0.

Hampstead & Westminster then moved up the pitch, nearing the Surbiton goal. Not close enough, however, as Rosie Hope tackled a Hampstead & Westminster midfielder and opened up the play with a central pass, paving the way for a strong Surbiton attack.

As Surbiton entered the opposing D, player Ellie Mackenzie took an attempt at goal at 16 minutes into the first quarter, followed by another attempt by Sophie Hamilton. Both were unfortunately unsuccessful. A baseline attack was then converted into an opposing short corner at 18 minutes by Hampstead & Westminster, with an important save by Surbiton’s Costello.

Going into the second quarter, Surbiton held a 2-0 lead and managed to intercept a Hampstead & Westminster aerial early into the quarter, sprinting up the pitch to secure an offensive short corner. This allowed Costello to generate a third goal for Surbiton Hockey Club before the seven-minute mark.

After the goal, Hampstead & Westminster took possession of the ball, transitioning towards Surbiton’s goal. This particular baseline attack induced a sharp stick save by another debutant goalkeeper, Lexi Higginson, giving Surbiton a chance to steal the ball.

As they drove up the pitch, a determined attack by a Hampstead & Westminster defender pivoted possession. Surbiton sprinted back for the defensive shield, but a hard hit from a Hampstead & Westminster striker, from near the outside of the circle during open play, resulted in a goal for Hampstead & Westminster.

Having rapidly recovered Surbiton adjusted for a defensive short corner. As Hampstead & Westminster injected the ball, Surbiton’s Evie Younger raced towards the striker just as she aimed for a hard shot and took the ball straight in the ankles, saving the goal but resulting in a second short corner. Hampstead & Westminster retook the short corner, and Higginson lunged forward to save the shot, keeping the score at 3-1 for the first half.

Going into the second half of the match, Surbiton managed to secure an offensive short corner two minutes into the half. However, following an impressive save by the opposition’s goalkeeper, Hampstead & Westminster stole control of the ball and forced a short corner against Surbiton two minutes later. Again, Surbiton were able to maintain a calm mindset after the Hampstead & Westminster striker reverse-hit the shot too high.

Three minutes later, another Hampstead & Westminster short corner was given, but Melbourne saved the shot and Surbiton’s Ellie Mackenzie and Maddie Axford shared a series of quick passes. Mackenzie played a clever pass under a defender’s stick to Axford, who returned it to her before Mackenzie supplied the assist to Ava Findlay. Findlay darted forward and, with a composed flick, finished off the goal to bring the score to 4-1, eight minutes into the second half.

Shortly afterwards, Surbiton managed to find another scoring opportunity as Izzy Petter evaded a defender to pass to Mackenzie, who had an attempt at finding the net. Hampstead & Westminster’s goalkeeper was able to dive for the shot but was unable to stop the counterattack by Surbiton’s Darcy Bourne, who converted the rebound into yet another goal for the team. This took the score at the end of the third quarter to 5-1.

Going into the last quarter, Surbiton advanced towards goal after a loose ball from Hampstead & Westminster was picked up by Costello. Entering the D, Lizzy Pocknell had a shot at the Hampstead & Westminster goal and the goalkeeper performed a full-stretch split save to block the shot. However, at the three-minute mark, Martha Taylor managed a close-range shot in free play, increasing the score one last time to 6-2.

Both Surbiton and Hampstead & Westminster battled for possession throughout the last quarter, with a number of unsuccessful short corners given for both teams. As the final whistle approached, the last play was called as a Surbiton defensive short corner. The Surbiton players quickly padded up and got into position whilst Hampstead & Westminster had a team huddle to discuss this final play.

Finally, the Hampstead & Westminster players got into position and the umpire blew the whistle. The injector brought the ball into play and Hampstead & Westminster’s number 11 swung for the ball and took a shot at goal. Surbiton’s goalkeeper Higginson saw the play and saved the last shot of the game with an exceptional split dive, finishing the match as the final whistle was blown.

Surbiton Women’s 1s put in a strong and competitive pre-season performance, with the final score of 6-2 reflecting the hard work and dedication put into the match. Captain Josie Hippe reported how the match was “really exciting with great defence, and was helpful for highlighting their areas to improve on before the competition season starts next week.”