Top goalscorers with 2 each : Lorna Cruickshank, Emma Mac, Georgie Brownhill.

Performances have been encouraging, which isn’t necessarily reflected in our current league position. The abandoned match versus Canterbury was particularly frustrating, as at 2-0 up with 10 minutes to play and in complete control, victory would have represented a commendable 9 points from our final four games. In our first season at this level we’ve been reassuringly competitive in every match and can approach the return fixtures with confidence.

The squad retains a core of last season’s promotion winners and we’ve successfully integrated newcomers Louisa Bray, Emma Postings, Jess Denniff and Georgie Brownhill, welcomed back former alumnae Ami Robinson and Lily Gandhi, and given a debut to Lily Freeman, the latest in a long line of impressive Southgate juniors to represent our Women’s 1st XI. With continued commitment we look forward to building on recent improvements in results in the second half of the season.

⚫ Men’s 2s by Chris Pearce (Coach)

Currently 2nd in London Men’s Premier Division

Played 11 | W7 | D0 | L4 | GD21

Expectations were high for this season with a strong squad bolstered by new recruits and players with experience from our Men’s 1’s and playing in higher leagues.

The season started in sobering fashion, losing a tight game to West Herts which gave a quick acknowledgement that regardless of our quality, we still needed to build a team and establish our team identity.  The results since have been mixed – at times we have beaten teams comprehensively, whilst also having periods of naivety that have cost us 3 points.  Winning 7-1, 7-2, 6-0 and 5-1 highlight our dominance at times, whereas a second loss to West Herts and defeats in away games to Barnes and Surbiton mean we will need to fight until the last minute of the last game of the season in the hope of securing our goal of promotion to the national conference.  There is a long way to go and we need to play Edwardians twice who currently sit top. With 6 teams all in a position to win it, it will be an exciting second half of the season.  It’s our responsibility to step up and take individual and collective responsibility to achieve our goal of promotion.

🔴 Women’s 2s by Ronan Casella (Coach)

It’s been a great first half of the season for the W2, winning 6 and losing 3–and there are still 2 games to play from this part.

The goal continues to be trying to get promoted. We’re 9 points behind the first team on the table but feeling positive and growing in our game.

⚫ Men’s 3s by Todd Lomas (Coach)

Top of Division 2 North

10 wins in 10 games, 48 goals scored, 8 goals conceded, 16 different goal scorers,

Being 8 points clear and a squad made up of players who were previously in 3 different teams, it is fair to say that the first half of the season has gone well for the M3s. There are multiple factors responsible for this increase in performance. More experienced personnel are one factor, thanks to players who have spent years playing high level hockey, the juniors and less experienced players have developed rapidly since September thanks to training and playing with the founts of knowledge that we have in this new M3s team. Training on a Thursday has also helped raise the standards of both the M3s and M4s who train alongside and the effort that is put in by everyone has been second to none, testament to the fact that if you provide the team with good training and they put in the effort, the rewards reap themselves. As Coach, my hope was and is that if I can provide a fraction of what I have learned from training with Kwan since he joined, the benefit to the team will be massive.

From a numerical perspective the success of the team can be down to a ratio, 48 scored and 8 conceded. With Andrew Westbrook (Westy) leading the charge at 11 goals, followed by Kabir Bowry at 7 and Charlie Rookes at 5, we have had consistent goal scorers from both outfield and penalty corners, as well as 14 other scorers, namely Lucca Bilyard our Captain and penalty flick taker and Freddie Trathen who’s debut in the team away at Barnes was highlighted with his silky goal to put us 1-0 up in our toughest game so far. Moving forward, something to build on for the next half of the season would be our clean sheet percentage, currently at 50% (H/A). Moreover, the team is getting more and more drilled in our system, however the challenge will become mental rather than tactical, if complacencies set in as we continue our journey towards promotion, but I speak for both myself and the team when I say: we welcome this challenge.

🔴 Women’s 3s by Lucca Bilyard (Coach)

After a late promotion to div 1 the women’s 3s have got off to a very good start. After briefly leading the league with 5 wins from 9 games and 2 games in hand, the 3s are in position to challenge right at the top of the league. With captain Mim and top goalscorer Emma Cox leading the lines, the 3’s look to start the second half of the season as strong as they did the first.

⚫ Men’s 4s by Alessandro Onano (Captain)

As we reach the halfway mark of the season, the Southgate M4s are sitting comfortably with 17 points from 10 matches, already surpassing last season’s total of 14 points in 22 games. This good start isn’t entirely surprising, given the team’s constant growth and the solid foundation laid in the latter half of the last season. Our success is a testament to the club’s increased level and competitiveness, bolstered by commitment, with consistent training attendance and availability for weekend matches playing a key role. Immense credit goes to Coach Todd, whose guidance during our Thursday trainings has been instrumental not only for his team but in developing ours as well. The youngsters, including David, Freddie, Alex, Jai, and Samir, continue to impress, building on their last season’s form, complemented by the consistent contributions of core team members Angus, Waqas, Zech, Richard, Alastair, Scott, Luke, and Lorenzo. New additions like Sam, Saj, and Tadhg have seamlessly integrated, showcasing their talent and positively contributing to the team dynamics. A special mention must be made of Huw’s leadership and his pivotal role in our effectiveness in PCs.

As we look forward to the second half, we must extend our heartfelt thanks to all the other players not mentioned above, who have been indispensable in their contributions when called upon. We wouldn’t be in this strong position without them, and we’re excited to build on this momentum, aiming to reach new heights with the collective effort of every team member.

🔴 Women’s 4s by Michelle Joubert (Captain)

The Women’s 4s have had a real mixed bag of results in the first half of the season, we are currently sitting 5th, with only 4 points between us and the Top of the Table. We have scored 29 goals this season so far, that’s the highest in the league so far! We have Won 4, Drawn 4 and Lost 2! We have one game to make up in the first week of the new year and are looking forward to turning those draws and losses into wins for the second half of the season.

It has been an absolute pleasure to captain this team so far this season with over 30 of the Women’s Section having already played a game (or more!) for us, we really can say we are a team of the people! A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to our results, to our superstar manager Sue, to the coaches and parents, thank you everyone! We cannot wait to get going for the second half of the season (after the very well deserved break we are all already enjoying!).

⚫ Men’s 5s by Jon Huddleston (Captain)

5s go into the New Year with everything to play for. In a highly competitive league they sit fourth having won 4, drawn 2 and lost 2. Those two defeats have been pivotal in shaping the season. The first, a narrow loss to Richmond on the opening day, came as the team were settling down, and with consistency in selection came a mini-run of results. The second defeat to West Hampstead caused a rethink of tactics and the team has evolved into a hyper-attacking unit dedicated to scoring one more goal than the opposition and having no regrets as they push for the highly coveted second place in the league ( Ham and West look to have the monopoly on first place at the halfway point).

The most satisfying element of the season has been the successful graduation of juniors from the 4As into the 5s. Surrounded by some wily veterans, dogged 5s stalwarts, exciting new  faces and a touch of dazzle from Mitch, the future is exciting. Win or lose, the 5s are going to entertain…

🔴 Women’s 5s by Bhu McJennett (Captain)

We are incredibly lucky this season, with the introduction of the 6s, to have two ladies teams at the development end of the club. Our ambition is to create a warm and welcoming environment where less experienced players and those of us who are perhaps more “experienced” than we like to admit, can still find a competitive game of hockey and play to the best of our abilities each week.

We also strive to spot youngsters and younger adults coming in who we can quickly develop and move up the teams.

This season has started off being pretty tough for the 5s, with availability not being as great as we expected which has meant it has sometimes been hard to field a team and subs are an absolute luxury when we have them!! However, despite playing with a slightly different team each week and suffering some significant losses, we have managed to fight back to almost mid-table after hard-fought win last Saturday.

Next year we have everything to play for and I am delighted to Captain this amazing group of women who start each game with a smile and a real desire to improve as a team, and as individuals.

⚫ Men’s 6s by Will Hargrove (Captain)

8^th of 11 teams in London Men’s Division 5 North West.

Won 2 | Drawn 3 | Lost 5

It has been a season that has seen a good start – two big wins – turn into a series of draws and then losses. There has been a steady core of 6 or 7 players but a lot of movement through the side otherwise (which s the function of such a side afterall). Our main issue has been tracking back and marking. The attack has been ok (6^th number of goals scored) but it is the “fight” that has sometimes been lacking. The captains discipline could also do with a re-set. James Rushton and Alex Prior haven been out most consistent performers.

Second half of the season – with many of the results “overturnable” a midtable 5^th/6^th should be attainable but it will take dedicated application. Onwards!

🔴 Women’s 6s by Kim Bishop-Laggett

It has been a long-held ambition of the Women’s section, to create a Saturday 6th team within the women’s structure. So, it was very exciting at the beginning of the season when we crunched the numbers and realised that this could become reality. We were late requesting to enter the league but, as luck would have it, a withdrawal in London Div East meant that there was a space. East wasn’t ideal as there are a few clubs a bit further afield but on balance we decided to be ambitious and go for it. And so, the W6s was born.

The team aims to provide a welcoming, competitive environment for players who are improving and gaining more experience. We include Back2Hockey players and juniors on their first steps to senior hockey amongst our numbers and we are supported by experienced players who want to nurture and support others. We have also been very lucky to have excellent coaching on a Wednesday night – what other 6th team in the land can boast an Olympian as their midweek coach – and to have the wise words of Stroller at half-time on a Saturday. When we play well, he will even rise from his chair, his joy is a delight to behold.

There is no denying it has been hard work at times, early starts and far away games coupled with availability constraints, have been a thorn in our side, and many sleepless nights have been spent wondering if we can really go out with eight players. But some relentless chasing midweek by Bhu and Kim and some very accommodating opposition, who are mostly in the same boat as us, has meant that the team has fulfilled all but one of its fixtures.

Some of our trips away have been a bit grim and we miss the home comforts of the Southgate club house, but all in all it’s been a fantastic step forward for the women’s section and we have a lovely, enthusiastic group of players coming together as a unit. We aren’t doing too badly with our results either, at the Christmas break we sit joint 6th with a game in hand and 10 points on the board: 3 wins and 1 draw. We have become masters at tactics for a 10-man team (sometimes 9) and I would describe our style as ‘unpredictable, freestyle, total hockey’. Our players are fast becoming utility players, able to play anywhere on the pitch at any time, it all depends who we have on the day. But our players do this with a smile and somehow manage to pull it off, whatever happens we always believe we can win, we don’t hang back, we go for it, support each other and enjoy it.

The team is an absolute delight with new faces appearing every week and some real potential amongst the squad. It’s exciting to see what 2024 will bring and we will certainly look forward to a few more home fixtures. We will move to a lateral league next season which will make logistics a lot easier.

Our goal is to keep going, have fun, play some decent hockey, and win more than we lose.

Well done Super Sixes – welcome to the Southgate family.

⚫ Men’s 7s by Mark Thomsett (Captain)

The M7s have found themselves on a steep learning curve in their debut season in the London League, with the squad of enthusiastic juniors and 40+ plodders coming up against graduates every week in physically challenging fixtures. The first month or so wasn’t easy, with heavy defeats at Osterley and West Hampstead and at home against Winchmore Hill & Enfield. After that, things improved – better player availability meant that a strengthened midfield and back four helped to gain fine results through October and November, with the pick of the bunch being a 4-3 victory against the then league-leaders, Richmond. At Christmas, they find themselves in 9^th position, in close pursuit of the two teams above them.

Like many teams at this end of the club, weekly performance is closely tied to player availability and stability, and if those can continue, there is no reason to think that the M7s cannot establish themselves as a solid mid-table team and pick up several more scalps as the season progresses.

⚫ Men’s 8s by Neil Prior (Men’s Co Chair of Selectors)

M8s – designated a “Development” team, the M8s put out a starting 11 front line vs St Alban 9 on Saturday of Chris Gerrard, Robin Tullo and Brian Woolcott – their average age being 78! Perhaps “Development” should be dropped from the team name for next season! Of course, with this front line, it goes without saying that the M8s were victorious over St Albans!

The other issue with having the “Development” label is that the league position and the results of the East Division 8SW designated development teams, of which there are 5 in the division of 10, are not recorded on the league table!

So here are some stats:

Played 9; Won 6; Drew 1; Lost 2 (with one still to play before Christmas).

Goals For: 35; Goals Against: 13;  Goal Difference: +22.

Number of Captains: 7

From this last statistic, you will see that the M8s like to operate guest match day captain each week. Many thanks to Mark Thomsett, Chris Pearce, Nigel Spencer-Knott, Richard Bishop-Laggett, MS Patti, Simon (Os) Bate and Alastair Whatley for each taking the captain’s armband and bringing their own unique brand of leadership skills to this team that aims the fuse the talents of our developing youth, back-to-hockey players and our most senior and respected long-term members. A particular shout-out to Chris Gerrard who is approaching his 60^th consecutive season playing for Southgate HC. This must be a club record?!

For the second half of the season we would like to encourage more youth to the team – very often Amar Johal has been the lone teenager in the team, boys playing in the U14s aged 13+ are welcome. We thank Amar hugely for the effort he has put in this season. It is important we keep this team firing, more BTH parents would also be welcome additions to create a better balance week-by-week. 

Having an ability to field this M8s team, for many members (whether they know it or not), is the difference between being able to play regular competitive hockey and not – please support this vision of inclusivity as best you can.

⚫ Titans by Benjamin Turner (Captain)

With the influx of young(er) blood to bolster Yesterday’s Men, Titans set themselves ambitious goals for the season: to match and exceed both our strong league position at the end of 22-23, and get at least One Step Beyond our last 16 showing in the O50s Cup.

But alas, amongst the Madness, it’s been a stuttery first half, accentuated by the loss of many players to injuries (no Cardiac Arrest), long holidays on the Night Boat To Cairo, and even getting (re)married?! It Must Be Love.

Last weekend’s early ejection from the Cup on a Grey Day in a rare draw at Our House exemplified Titans’ performances to date: some sharp play offering chances but no reward, some leaked goals, and a well-created-but-too-litte-too-late consolation. In the Men’s O50s Premier, we’re 8th of 11 having at least won 2 and drawn 1, so not an Embarrassment. And our league top goalscorer on 3 goals, making a guest appearance and bagging a hat trick against old foes Indian Gym, is Will Hargrove! Says it all really – C’est La Vie.

Great support from the whole club to help us get a team out each week. A huge thank you to all 34 players – including our esteemed Director of Hockey – who have participated in our squad rotation to date.

Here’s to at least One Better Day, and a season of two halves!