This week’s fixture saw Sutton Valence’s top team battle it out against their noisy neighbours. As usual the temperature at the junior school playing field seemed to be five degrees less than the rest of Kent. Perhaps knowledge of this weather phenomenon was the reason half the travelling team arrived late, delaying the start of the game.
The home team’s warm up was casual and more the usual social event having not seen the likes of Turnill, Angel, and Bray for several weeks. This local derby enticing all stalwarts of SVHC from the nooks and crannies of their busy lives. The average age of the 14-man squad was as impressive as its résumé. On paper the team was formidable, in reality ageing, during the game rusty, but in the end victorious.
In an early twist, Back’s nemesis arrived to umpire, a prospect that brought wind-carved tears of joy to the sweeper’s eye. Not a Marden marauder, but Valence’s very own chatty man, Darren Thompson.
The visitors were a mix youth and experience so often a dangerous combination but on this occasion not so with the youth expending much of it’s energy whining at each decision missed or not going their way. Valence were not to be outdone and whinged as often as their cardio vascular systems’ would allow.
In the opening exchanges Marden held an advantage having gone straight into their game from their warm up. SV were still re-stretching hamstrings, and trying to remember what it was they came to the hockey pitch for. The defence was tested but held firm. Blanchard, Parker, Whitmill, and Back more reminiscent of a seventies supergroup were not to be intimidated. Throughout the first half SV were put under pressure in the midfield but Willson whizzed around like a man without a hamstring injury and his midfield cohorts followed suit. Johnson spun and twirled, Traggett tenacious and hell bent on making it to his next roll-up, Angel dogged and free from the focus of new home furnishings, and Barr, the elderly statesman for the team, belying his years in a seemingly casual and effortless manner.
Up front the efforts of Turnill, Stille, and Sheldon were equalled by the visiting keeper who was worryingly steadfast and at ease swatting short corner drag flicks or blocking open shots with indifference. In the end it was a frantic fight at the goal mouth that saw the home team go in front. Having saved several attempts in a row it was surprisingly Willson who not only reacted quickest of all those around the ball, but also managed to move the quickest and push the ball over the line. Willson delirious at achieving such athleticism uninjured, left the Marden keeper distraught at having been undone by a tickler over the line.
As the half wore on, the visitors were annoyingly persistent and in their first real attempt on goal levelled the score. The unmarked Marden marksman, hit a low, rising shot from the right just inside the D that clattered the side boarding. There was a brief inquisition amongst Young and his defenders to ascertain if anyone saw the ball or was there some kind of deceptive, acoustic folly at play. In conclusion the panel of defensive experts agreed it was actually a good goal, and beyond the reflex capabilities of the ageing home keeper.
The second half was much the same as the first, just not as good and seemingly grew as stale as Tragett’s former match day socks. Valence created opportunities but were unable to convert any, and seemed more inclined to pass the ball to the opposition. This gave Bray the opportunity to display his possessive quality and continually wind up any Marden player trying to take his ball away. As the half fizzled on like a damp firework with as much appreciation of a Christmas song in November, a spark appeared in the form of Johnson latching on to a rebound and slotting home the winner. SVHC historians are still tracing back to discover when Johnson was last on the score sheet, albeit a totally superfluous exercise, as this was the winner, and a winner against our noisy neighbours is worth two anywhere else. In a re-enactment of the first half Marden persisted and almost found another equaliser but Young was up to task in this second act and his reflexes sound, deflecting the shot away and maintaining the one goal advantage.
Marden will think themselves unlucky not to have shared the spoils but in reality were fortunate to have only conceded the two goals.
Final score SV 2 - Marden 1.

Goals: Tom Willson, Chris Johnson

Team: Stewart Young (GK), Russell Blanchard, Steve Parker, Mark Whitmill (C), Rob Bray, Chris Back, Chris Johnson, Tom Willson, Andy Barr, Ben Tragett, Brett Angel, Chris Stille, Chris Sheldon (VC) & Andy Turnill
Umpires: Iain Simmons, Darren Thompson

Match Report by Stewart Young.

Next week Sutton Valence’s 2nd Xl will face Ashford 4th Xl away at 16.00.