Result – 3-2
Report by Alastair Whatley

Southgate put off their strongest performance of the season so far as they just fell short from producing a major upset at Sugden road on Saturday night under the lights against rivals Surbiton.

On a buzzy November night with local fireworks accompany the on-pitch action, Huw Stevens’ side battled from the first whistle taking the home side slightly by surprise as they fought hard defensively and found space moving forwards to exert real pressure and threat on the Surbiton back line.

Despite seeing off some sustained attacks at the other end of the pitch it was Karan Sofat who in the 11th minute bundled in the first goal of the game, after a charging run from Giulio Ferrini down the right wing who found Nat Farrant on the baseline who in turn feinted a smart pass towards the P spot which Sofat saw home to send Southgate ahead.

That precious lead was however short lived when Surbiton’s Jacob Smith less than two minutes later, pulled off a fine finish from the top right of the D to beat Calum Douglas and equalise for the Surbiton team.

A host of Southgate supporters had made the journey down and far outstripped the local support in volume and very soon the sense of a real game being on the cards was emulated in some very noisy support on the Sugden road sidelines.

Half time saw the teams tied at 1-1 and it was Surbiton who came out firing in the 3rd quarter with Calum Douglas forced into a succession of strong saves between the Southgate posts. The highlight being a fabulous save from a penalty flick off his fellow Scotland international Struan Walker. Walker however soon reaped his revenge with an outrageous reverse overhead deflection to steal the lead in the 41st minute. 2-1.

Southgate however bit back hard and just 60 seconds later won a PC which was deflected to captain John Sterlini who drove the ball in hard across the goal for a pin point detected finish once again from Sofat to level the scoring and set up a pulsating final act.

The atmosphere on the sidelines was at fever pitch as the Gate support sensed an upset could be on the cards, there were scenes of vocal abandon from some senior club figures as the action on the pitch saw chances at both ends. The best for Southgate came from Nat Farrant who one-on-one with GB’s James Mazarelo snared a reverse hard and high, beating the keeper and only failed at the last by hitting the cross bar with a reverberant thud resounding into the west London night.

It took until the 61st for the pressure to break and Gareth Furlong converted a PC with a neat finish to the top left to give Surbiton back the lead.

Still the visitors fought on with several calls for a PC to be awarded which umpire Davis resisted, half chances came and went as Southgate fought in vain for a deserved equaliser. Southgate mustered one last PC at the death which again was sipped but was well saved by Mazarelo.

The whistle eventually came and much as the team rued the missed opportunity for a point or 3, it was a performance of grit and maturity that belies the current league position. If the team can repeat that tenacity, guile and determination they should be able to bring back their second victory the season on Saturday night against a struggling Richmond side sitting one place below Southgate in the this challenging Premier Division of English Hockey.