Southgate Men face a big weekend of two crunch games back to back which could be literal game changers for the season.
The tight 0-1 away in Cardiff saw some trenchant and fine defending denying Cardiff all but a handful of scoring opportunities, yet at the other end the ball just would not find the backboard.
On Saturday the team head to East Grinstead looking to change their fortunes taking on Wes Jackson’s side in what is likely to be another close fought contest. EG head into this game with 7 points having recorded wins against Cardiff and Beeston. Most recently they put up strong resistance to league leaders Surbiton at Sugden road going down in the end 5-2 – with last years signing Nick Bandurak adding salt into the EG wound by scoring in the the 56th minute.
Southgate’s Archie Foster holds off the challenge of Alex Sheldon of EG. East Grinstead v Southgate – EHL Men’s Premier Division at East Grinstead Sports Centre, East Grinstead, Sussex, UK on 23 November 2024.
Photo by Simon Parker/SP Action Images
EG bring a experienced side to bear with the Faulkner brothers Simon and captain Daniel providing blast and Jonty Elmes and Joseph Farmer solid threats from the top of the D.
The last meeting between both sides was a 3-3 thriller on the 8th March with two goals in the last minute of the game taking it from 2-2 to 2-3 to EG before Charles Hamilton found a way to equalise in the dying seconds to secure the crucial point. Both sides have seen some changes to personnel over the winter with plenty of player movement- it means Southgate Coach Huw Stevens goes into this game fresh and with everything to play for.
In terms of the squad the team remains largely consistent to the one that travelled to Sophia Gardens last Saturday. Alex Newitt coming in for Nat Farrant is the only change.
Farrant will however return on Sunday and offer some important fresh legs in one of the biggest home games of the season. Beeston are sat in 12th spot one place and one point adrift from Southgate and face a long away weekend to revive their season. They play Reading at 4pm on Saturday before facing the journey down on Sunday to Trent Park for a 2pm PB.
Yet as with Southgate the results only tell half the story. Last weekend Beeston took league challengers Wimbledon to the wire in a 1-2 game. Stephen Wood’s side equalised in the 55th minute through a William Prentice goal before Ben Francis denied the Bees a big point in the 65th minute of play. The Bees also fell just short against Cardiff after going ahead in the 8th minute before then shipping two goals in Q2 to end up the wrong side of another 2-1 defeat.
Historically Southgate versus Beeston have always been tight games the last two season have seen 2 draws before a George Fletched 65th minute goal gave Beeston the honours in a 2-3 game on home soil back in the 22nd March when Charles Hamilton scored memorably in the very 1st minute.
All in all it shapes up to be a crunchy, exciting and for a Southgate supporter a nervy weekend. Huw Stevens and his players can hold onto their dominance in games against Cardiff and Brooklands and have the quality to sail through the weekend surging up the table with 6 points, yet they will face some trials on the way and will need all their resilience and stamina not to mention some Southgate support from the balcony to get them over the line.