Sutton Valence 2nd XI travelled to Rochester to face Old Williamsonians 3rd XI in what turned out to be a very closely fought, and at times heated match. Valence started the game looking the more assured of the two teams, using the width of the pitch well and recycling possession when there were no options moving forward. As the half progressed Old Wills got up to speed with Valence’s quick start and had their own good passages of play.
The high pace of hockey however started to slow due to a lot of stop/start umpiring decisions, which included numerous green cards being shown to Sutton Valence players throughout the half for alleged dissent. It was however Valence that finally broke the deadlock 10 minutes from half time, with Chris Sheldon passing the ball across the D to find Chris Stille who swept it into the back of the net. Old Wills were unable to find an equaliser before halftime, so SV took a 1 goal lead into the break.
The Valence half-time team talk focussed on more of the same and to try and getting back the quality of play they showed at the start of the game. It was Old Wills however who started the second half the stronger of the two teams, retaining possession early on and creating a number of opportunities, which Sutton Valence defended well. With the flow of play being less interrupted by the whistle, both teams focussed on the job at hand. Valence found themselves under pressure for the majority of the half, but despite conceding a high number of short corners, they refused to concede a goal, helped by Old Wills not being able to hit the target on the majority of the short corners.
The game finally ended with Sutton Valence holding onto their one goal lead and taking 3 points from a hard-fought game. Old Wills felt unlucky not to get something from the fixture, but Valence’s defence looked strong throughout the 70 minutes, in part thanks to Chris Back, who was awarded Man of the Match.

Goals: Chris Stille

MoM: Chris Back

Team: Mark Whitmill, Ben Tragett, Chris Stille, Jack Sheldon, Andy Lee, Chris Johnson, Steve Parker, Andy Barr, Chris Sheldon, Rob Bray, Russell Blanchard, Chris Back, Brett Angel
Umpires: Old Williamsonians provided both

Match report by Mark Whitmill.

The 2nd Xl’s next League game will be at home at 11.15 against Canterbury 7th Xl on 30th October.