A gutsy effort from the Flagons saw them draw away to league leaders Surbiton Jokers and take their first point in the London League O40s Div 1
Flagons made the journey south with only the bare 11 players, including Mike Poulton who had already put in a man-of-the-match performance for Tankards an hour earlier. “To be fair Surbiton were a slightly depleted team from their best as well, but what a terrific effort by the whole Flagon team,” said captain Greg Wildisen. “It was looking tough when we went 2-0 down…but the team resolve to keep going, to throw everything at them, to grind out almost gave us the three points.” In the end, Surbiton had the final say levelling the match 4-4. “But it feels like the start we need now carry on now,” added Wildisen. “It was lovely to take that from the league leaders.”
Scorers with two each were Scott and Wildisen.
M5s put 10 past a depleted Tulse Hill & Dulwich 5s side in a game that resembled a training exercise more than a competitive fixture. The nine-man away side spiritedly packed their D to try and limit Southgate’s chances from open play, but were punished on PCs by drag-flicking Ivan Stark. Ivan took MoM for his four goals, which included a fine reverse stick strike, with Finlay Batchelor adding another 3, Laurence Whyatt scoring 2, and Haimish Patel 1.
M3As beat West Herts 4s 3-2 with goals scored by Jackson Trathen (2) and James Atkinson who also won man of the match for his performance.
Against a strong side with some fast wingers and midfielders, it took Southgate a while to get the ball in the goal but it finally came after a scrappy attack involving Oscar Prior, Ruben Straat and James Atkinson, who got the final touch. The lead held into half time but straight after the break Southgate had to soak up a lot of pressure from a good West Herts press which made ‘keeper Veysel Demir quite busy with some important saves. Eventually a good flick at goal levelled the score before Ruben Straat held up the ball nicely in the D before laying it off to Jackson Trathen with a first-time reverse hit to get his first of the match. The pressure continued to come from West Herts and they scored on the back post to bring the fixture back to a tie. With only a few minutes to go, a broken down short corner led to Ruben playing the ball across to Jackson on the penalty spot for him to claim the winner.
Tankards Z played an early game against a much younger Letchworth 5s. “Zs did magnificently well to get a 1-1 draw and, on another day, we would have sneaked the win, converting some of the second-half chances that fell to us,” said captain Justin Edwards.
Tankards scored first with a lovely goal from Anand Shukla, who pressed into the D, beating three players, before slotting past the keeper’s feet. Letchworth came back hard and equalised so that 1-1 was a fair reflection of the game.
Tankards A won 3-0 away to Stevenage 3s in a strong team performance. “A very scrappy first 15 minutes on a tricky surface gave way to some good passing and eventually a messy but essential goal from man-of-the-match Jack Levene,” said Will Hargrove, captain. Levene scored his second before half time. “We actually played better in the second half but only scored once through a good strike from Harry Grinham who was a handful for the oppo the whole game,” added Hargrove. “Everyone played their part…It was particularly pleasing to have one of the opposition defenders make a point at the end of the game in telling me what a great reflection the youngsters were on the team and Southgate as a club, not just playing well but the way they carried themselves – well done lads.”
Tankards Y enjoyed playing West Herts 6s on their newly laid ground and securing a 4-0 away win. “We appeared to be evenly matched sides and for the first 10 minutes Tankards possession was the difference,” said Nigel Spencer-Knott, captain. Ollie Costelloe was welcomed for his first Tankards game, and Quentin Wedmore showed outstanding keeping on his return between the sticks.
Quick passing into the D gave several forwards opportunities to score, but it was Freddie Trathen who took his chance in a goalmouth melee. Tankards were still leading by that one goal until 20 minutes before the end of the game when Wayne Garner struck the ball hard onto the backboard before West Herts’ goalkeeper could react.
The third came from a Toby Munyard PC and the fourth by Duncan Trathen who had injected to Toby before helping the ball it on its way into the net. (0-4). “It was a pleasure to play in this match where team work was the order of the day,” said Spencer-Knott. “The score might be embarrassing, even unfair to West Herts but we’ll take it!” MoM was shared by Duncan and Freddie Trathen, and Guy Garner.