Match Preview by Alastair Whatley
Saturday 21st February
Holcombe W1 vs Southgate W1 13:00PB
Saturday will see our W1 looking to bounce back from defeat to Guildford with a big performance against Holcombe at Holcombe Park.
Despite dominating for huge swathes of their recent game against Guildford it was s solitary goal that proved the difference between the sides. Yet that same solitary goal has allowed Holcombe in 6th place in Division One South to extend their lead over 7th placed Southgate sat on 12 points and tied for points with Sevenoaks with Guildford despite that win still in the 2nd relegation spot along with Harleston Magpies who look certain for the drop sat on nil points after 12 games.
There is some good news and bad news in the preview- the bad news first- that being Holcombe in the last 3 encounters consistently got the better of the Gate girls with 3 wins from 3, the home leg a 1-3 loss. The good news is that the team has reported some really positive training over the last 2 weeks, Coach Ronan Casella says he knows what his team can do and has belief they will put in a big performance on Holcombe turf.
In team news Ellie Harrison is injured with Charlie Stafford coming in for her on the team sheet. Charlie was the goal scorer in the last encounter between the sides which bodes well. Becca Malyon is also back in the team which offers a new forward threat for the Gators. Otherwise Casella has kept with a consistent team selection from the last game against Guildford.
This is one the third game since the league restart on the 7th February with 6 games left before the final match on 28th March against The University of Exeter- so there is everything to play for. The potential has been knocking on the door all season, seen magnificently in the 5-2 home win against Bristol Firebrands on the 29th Feb. Holcombe Park is the perfect place at the perfect time for that potential to be fully realised. Look out for the match report next week.