Southgate Tavernas continue their cup run with victory over Dereham as they attempt to go one better than last year and bring home the Tier 1 EH Mixed Cup.
The long journey east to Dereham meant a bleary eyed start for Emma Postings and her team who wended their way to the market town in Norfolk. A walkover in their game against Blueharts in January meant that the team had not played together since December when they headed out against Broxbourne. Joe Hillyer made his Taverna team debut and the Southgate side also welcomed back Charles Hamilton, Charlotte Kelly, Caitlin Haberlin-Chambers and Robbie Gill for their first mixed games of the season.
Southgate arrived in force and despite the weather turning increasingly wet and windy started strongly with Charles Hamilton putting a fine one touch finish from the right hand of the D to put the visitors in the lead after just 4 minutes. Yet Dereham responded strongly and won a succession of corners calling Gate keeper Akshay into action with a series of athletic saves using hand, boot and stick with varying levels of ferocity.
Jennie Stephens used her first minute on the pitch to deliver a wonder strike from a PC which hit the backboard with real feeling to give Southgate a two goal advantage after 10 minutes. Yet still Dereham pressed and used some real tenacity and spirit to pressurise the Gate defence. Emma Postings in a MVP performance was dogged in the tackle and along with Lucy Sheffield, Charlotte Kelly and Joe Hillyer put in big shifts to deny the home team.
Todd Lomas extended the Gate lead with a well taken finish driving in from the baseline and at 3-0 Southgate looked comfortable – yet Dereham pulled one back before half time and the game remained far from over.
Caitlin Haberlin-Chambers delivered a fantastic finish from a Charles Hamilton and Charlotte Childs set-up to give Gate a three goal cushion at 1-4- yet this ignited a big effort from Dereham as they continued to win corners and eventually converted one before 10 minutes from the end found another deflected ball bounce nicely for their forward to whack the ball home passed a well beaten Akshay to send the game within one goal from parity.
Dan West, Imi Swan and Caitlin Polley were superb in the closing stages of the game controlling things from the middle and denying Dereham – there was on final scare 3 minutes from the end when a PC was awarded to the visitors who had a chance to equalise- yet Akshay was more than a match for it and Southgate continued to attack with Charles Hamilton even hitting the cross bar with a sweeping reverse tomahawk that thudded against the steel with a noise that reverberated all the way to Norwich such was the force with which it was struck.
Ultimately Southgate asked away 3-4 winners and progress to round 5 of the Cup with the next game to be announced on the 23rd March. Credit to Dereham who showed real fighting spirit to come back to almost get back on terms in what was at times a chaotic and end to end encounter. Thanks to all at Dereham for the hospitality and we will announce the next game once the draw is made later this week.
