Southgate M4 in colourful performance against Crostyx
By Waqas Dastagir
Southgate M4 suffered a frustrating 2–0 defeat to Crostyx M1 on the water pitch, but there was plenty of competitive fire and plenty of disciplinary action to digest. 4s Debutants Olli Evans in goal and Max James outfield both slotted in admirably, with Southgate going toe-to-toe with the opposition in a lively opening sequence.
Will Roughton showed off some early aerial prowess, though his confidence briefly got the better of him when a ground-rolling “aerial” from center-back went straight to a Crostyx stick instead. Southgate’s solid play was severely hampered by a flurry of rash tackles, picking up two greens and a yellow before the break and forcing them to weather heavy pressure down to ten men. Somehow, the scores remained locked at 0–0 at the half.
The second half began with Southgate on the front foot, with a few D entries that unfortunately yielded no return. At the other end, debut keeper Olli Evans stood tall, pulling off impressive saves to deny Crostyx’s on multiple solid PC attempts, resulting in him receiving MoM on his debut. The deadlock was finally broken by an agonising defensive mix-up when Southgate left the ball unattended at the back post, allowing a Crostyx forward to nip in and bundle it over the line. Southgate’s momentum hit another speed bump when a second yellow card saw them reduced to ten men for a long ten-minute stretch. Despite pushing hard for an equalizer, the Southgate side were unable to convert chances into goals.
With Southgate overcommitting in attack, Crostyx capitalized on the counter to slot home a second goal with less than ten minutes remaining. Deep in the second half – Southgate’s third green card of the day for an optimistic tackle from the wrong side of the attacker, was awarded and with it a high tally of three green and two yellow cards. Those cards might not do much for Southgate’s fair play standings, but despite a 2–0 loss there was plenty of fight. With a brand-new squad gelling fast over these opening three games, the platform is clearly there to start putting points on the board next time out.