On a windy Saturday morning Sutton Valence had to switch their game at the last minute to the Prep School, which isn’t known for its grip underfoot, especially when wet! Early on it claimed some victims until both teams got used to the surface! Valence started the game against Sevenoaks in very uncharacteristic fashion, by being the team that dominated early on…. So much so, Sevenoaks hardly touched the ball for the first 5 minutes, unless it was on one of their defenders’ feet! The early domination continued throughout the half, with Sevenoaks pinned in their half for pretty much all 35 minutes. Despite the pressure, Valence were unable to convert any of the chances they created in open play or from any of their short corners. They went into half-time slightly frustrated they hadn’t put 3 goals on the board, however they knew if they continued to play in the same manner the goals would come.
Sevenoaks started the second half much better than the first and began to create some chances of their own, but Valence still had the edge….. the edge up until the point Sevenoaks scored against the run of play and they found themselves one down, with 15 minutes left on the clock.
With time becoming a factor in the game there was relief when Tom Willson ran the ball out of SV’s D past the halfway line and up to Sevenoaks’ D. As he set off, Alex Hodges was calling for a pass as the right wing was wide open, but Tom opted to move the ball left to Andy Lee who was in the Sevenoaks D, with a quick pass across the goal, Alex Hodges who had ran the length of the pitch to support the play slotted the ball in the back of the net for the equaliser. With only 5 minutes left in the game, Sutton Valence looked to build on their momentum and Andy Lee turned from supplier of the last goal into goal scorer, with what looked like a cover drive shot off a ball that jumped in the air off a Sevenoaks defender’s stick. With only 2 minutes left in the game, Valence retained possession sealing the victory.
Man of the match was a close fought contest, with excellent play from Seb O’Leary, but Alex Hodges edged it due to his hard fought yards throughout the 70 minutes and the equalising goal.

MOM: Alex Hodges
Goals: Alex Hodges, Andy Lee

Team: Stewart Young, Mark Whitmill, Alex Hodges, Steve Parker, Ben Tragett, Andy Barr, Chris Sheldon, James Willmott, Andy Lee, Lewis Mitchell, Tom Willson, Seb O’Leary
Umpire: Iain Simmons & Andrew Wishart

Match Report by Mark Whitmill.