National League Match Report
Southgate W1 vs Barnes W1 (Away)
Result 3:0 Loss
Match Report by Charlotte Burrows

After a disappointing loss to Sevenoaks last week, Southgate were looking to rebuild momentum after a tough period against the league’s top teams. Barnes are a team which we have always had close, competitive fixtures with and were famously the winning team of a closely fought promotion contest in the 2021/22 season.

After all the players finally managed to find the lovely shed by the pitch in the carpark- it was heads down to the task in hand. Todd had prepped the girls with another fab video to get the team in the zone and Andy gave a thorough pre match talk.

The game didn’t get off to the smoothest start which captain Robbo falling on a very slippery pitch. However, she managed to recover and we were off! The first half was a tightly fought contest with Southgate managing the aerial threat effectively and defending short corners gloriously. Ami Robo was everywhere cleaning up and CK was adding her usually flair going forward. The press led by Char Childs was working tirelessly- with her work ethic boosting the rest of the teams performance.

At half time Southgate were very much in the match, the score 0-0. However Barnes came out strong in the second half, setting at very high press which Southgate struggled to deal with. Unfortunately, two goals came in quick succession during the third quarter and Southgate were very much under pressure. Southgate were able to recover in the final quarter but despite some great saves from Bray the game ended 3-0. To top off a pretty miserable day there were only cold showers to greet the girls after the games.

The rest of the league results have been extremely unpredictable (if not a little baffling). The good news is that it is still in our hands- but the relegation fight is very much on and we really need a good week this week to focus and try and get a result next week.