Match Report : Allan Dick

Result : Southgate 3 – 3 London Wayfarers

Southgate visited league leaders London Wayfarers on Saturday in a top of the table clash that ended in a 6-goal thriller. Southgate welcomed back Ella Sherring into the squad and were quickly on the offensive, putting the hosts under pressure. The first quarter, although goalless, was a fairly contested battle with chances for both sides. Southgate came closest with a penalty corner that was well saved by Wayfarers’ goalkeeper.

Southgate came out in the second quarter looking to press home their impressive possession numbers into goals. However, Wayfarers scored a rare opportunity to take the lead after a turnover from ‘Gate. The next 10 minutes were a bit of a blur as Southgate conceded twice more. An unfortunate bounce off of Molly Smith’s glove looped over her and into the goal while the third Wayfarers’ goal was an overtime corner resulting in a 3-0 deficit going into half time.

The second half started with a burst of energy from Southgate. They were quickly on the score sheet with Jess Olorenshaw finishing off a fine move. The game then ramped up in pace again with Southgate generating more pressure which led to another fine move finished off by Charlotte Childs. This was followed up quickly by Emily Ruffell-Hazell grabbing her first goal of the season as she bundled it over the line, much to the protests of the hosts that were turned away by the umpires.

With their tails up, Southgate went looking for the fourth. However, it was not to be as the game ended in a dramatic 3-3 draw. The team, although proud of their fighting spirit and resolve, were feeling disappointed that they couldn’t cap the comeback off by taking all three points back to
north London.

This weekend they will look to get back to winning ways as they face Horsham away in what is expected to be another tough game.