Result: W6 1 – 2 Winchmore Hill and Enfield
Goal Scorers: Olive James
Match Report by Chloe Voss
A spirited performance by the Southgate Women 6’s saw them concede their first game of the season (2-1) away to Winchmore Hill & Enfield on an overcast day at Southbury Leisure Centre. The pitch was described by one player as ‘sticky’ and certainly one end was in dire need of a leaf blower, but this didn’t deter a team effort with lots of promise for the season to come.
An early goal by Winchmore after four minutes (1-0) was the result of a shooting circle that was crowded with most of the players on the pitch, the ball bouncing off several sticks before dribbling into the goal to the surprise of both teams. Shaking off that start, the team reorganised and began to find their rhythm. Another shot on target by Winchmore ten minutes later was from outside the circle as both teams began a midfield battle that heavily involved the younger players in the team, penetrating dashes by Isher Johal feeding Jessica Mather with excellent runs down the wings. Strong defensive performances by Dervla McErlean, Chloe Voss, Claire Roughton, Emma Champion and Sara Ghosh, regularly frustrated the Winchmore attack, and the result stayed the same by the first half whistle.
The second half showed the team take it up a notch as they found their pace, with notable performances from midfielders Hannah Wilson and Suneeta Chase, controlling the centre and disrupting opposition play to feed attacks. One such drive created the equaliser, with a pass to Greta Rait whose dribbling down the right frustrated defenders and drew a short corner. The resulting shot by Olive James saw the ball loop into the top left and the team celebrated a well-deserved goal (1-1). Minutes later however, Winchmore drew ahead again as the Southgate goalie, Jynella Lamey-Chang, saved a shot only for the rebound to fall directly to a lurking Winchmore player, who pushed it into the goal (2-1). Southgate replied immediately, a high shot from Olive reaching the experienced hands of international Kathy Hammond, only for the deflection to go agonisingly wide past a paralysed Winchmore defence. Another spell of pressure resulted in an own goal by Winchmore who were provided a lucky escape by the referee ruling it had not been touched by an offensive player, even though the commiserations had already begun amongst the defenders. The rest of the game was end-to-end, with sterling saves from the goalie and several short corners stifled, the midfield passing with flair and several attacking attempts that just missed the target. The final whistle brought an exciting game to an untimely end with Southgate pushing for an equaliser.
Overall, the Women’s 6’s improved substantially throughout the game as confidence grew. Continuing the season in this vein and building experience will only add to the spirit of a team who clearly enjoyed their time on the field and who can only be congratulated for a tight result from a well-fought match.
