0-2 Loss
Match Report by Jess Denniff

After a tough defeat to league leaders Surbiton last Saturday, Southgate were hoping to return to winning ways this weekend in their home fixture against Sevenoaks. The previous fixture between the two sides was closely contested, finishing 4-1 to Sevenoaks.

Following a thorough warm up, Southgate started the match with real intent and purpose. Well-worked passages of play resulted in several ‘D’ penetrations and Southgate were the team who looked most likely to score. However, Sevenoaks responded well to being put under initial pressure and won a short corner in the 10th minute. The straight strike from Lily Elliott, who has scored in their previous two fixtures, took an unpredictable deflection and hit the back of the net – 1-0 to Sevenoaks.

The second quarter was mostly fought in the middle of the park with the midfielders engaging in a strong battle for possession. Sevenoaks’ main attacking tactic appeared to be long crash balls into the ‘D’. Southgate had been doing very well to defend these, yet after a few transfers to move our press, one of these long balls found a Sevenoaks player who was able to deflect it into the corner of the goal – 2-0 to Sevenoaks.

The third and fourth quarter was a goalless affair. Southgate continued to wear down the Sevenoaks defence and this resulted in one green and two yellow cards being awarded to Sevenoaks players. However, despite Southgate continuing to create several good scoring opportunities in the form of open play and short corners, they were simply unable to convert these chances into goals. The two goals scored in the first half were the only factor separating the two sides.

Southgate now sit in 8th place, two points below Canterbury and one point above Bath. Next week, the side travels to south west London to play 3rd place Barnes in what will be another challenging fixture with both teams looking to bounce back after defeats this weekend.