Sunday was a very tough match both physically and mentally, for our ladies 1s, coming up against 4 players and the coach from last season. A slow start for the team resulted in us conceding 3 quick goals and struggling to get out of second gear. A motivational half time talk from Coach Burkin led to a complete turnaround in performance from our ladies in red. We absolutely dominated the second half, rarely allowing the ball into our defensive half and creating plenty of opportunities up front. A brilliantly executed short corner saw Katie Hopkisson bury the ball in the bottom left corner. The last 15 played out in brutal fashion; however the score would remain 3-1 till the final whistle. With plenty to work but plenty to be proud of, we aim to return from Ipswich next weekend with 3 points in our pocket. 

The Ladies 2s faced a recently promoted Harrow side and with 2 wins in a row they were looking for a hattrick. Harrow were the first to take charge of the game and score but Southgate were not far behind with a short corner deflection from Ella Sherring.  It was a tough fight in parts but Southgate showed their maturity and kept calm to secure a 3-2 win.  Gabby M-P put in a Man of the Match performance as well as the final 2 goals.

Ladies 3s – report; The M25/North Circular are not great places to be on the first Saturday of half-term and the angsty journey set the tone for the day.

We knew that the Staines team was made up of very experienced older players, and the dissolution of their first team over the summer meant that some of these players had further strengthened their squad.

During the first half, we struggled to read their game and their tactic of playing for a short corner rather than going directly for goal meant that at the end of the first half we were 3-0 down.

Our halftime team talk identified better ways of counteracting their plays and we came out fired up and much more positive. Yet another short corner sealed the final result of 4-0.