Sutton Valence 3
Matches
Sat 26 Oct 2019  ·  Kent Open League - Division 3
Old Williamsonians Mens 5th XI
1
3
Sutton Valence Hockey Club
Sutton Valence 3
R Cockayne (26'), D Field (49'), S Edmed (59')
3rd Xl continue winning streak

3rd Xl continue winning streak

Paul Linaker27 Oct 2019 - 20:09
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Valence maintain dominant play against the odds.

Valence 3rd Xl travelled to Old Williamsonians on a grey and wet afternoon looking to continue their strong start to the season despite only fielding a bare eleven. Valence got off to a good start banishing the demons from the poor performance last week, having a lot of possession and showing some good passing and looking comfortable on the ball. They continued in this vein and gave Old Wills a lot to think about in their D, though, through a combination of good defending, sharp goalkeeping and wayward Valence attacking, they kept the visitors out. It was, however, the home side who broke the deadlock first, after a defensive miscommunication between a Valence defender and goalkeeper, and an excellent run and finish by one of Old Will’s younger players.
Valence continued to play well despite going behind and pulled level thanks to Rob Cockayne, who's already racking up the goals this season. This settled the nerves, as passes had been going astray as Valence were rushing and panicking in their play. Half time came and went with the score locked at 1-1. The Valence half time team talk was about continuing as they were, looking for the best finish, and not rushing. This paid dividends as they continued to find acres of space in midfield and upfront and to cause Old Wills problems. Valence then took the lead through a well worked move and cool finish from Duncan Field, cutting in from the right to place a shot accurately into the bottom corner. 2-1 and Valence were in the ascendancy.
Having taken the lead, Valence had the misfortune of Adrian Gander receiving a green card (a habit against OW's and something he was keen to remind us about before the game) for suggesting to the junior player that tackling on the wrong side could end up by him getting hurt. The umpire took umbrage at this and Gander got 2 minutes rest for his sins. But the man-down disadvantage didn't put Valence off and the situation galvanized the team to finish the opposition off. The third goal came from a well worked short corner and a goal thanks to Stuart Edmed's rebound finish to seal the victory.
Evidently the home Umpire wasn’t having a good day, as he chose to leave the pitch without shaking the Valence team’s hands. This was a real shame, as the game had been played in the right way, competitive, but in a real good spirit.
Worth, also, paying credit to Old Williamsonians’ juniors, of which they had a high number playing, and considering the start Valence have had to the season, they coped very well. Facing the abundance of youth and fitness and a dugout full of subs, Valence also managed their fitness well, especially as they spent a good part of the second half down to 10 men, after Gander’s green and Stuart Edmed’s smashed knee, thanks to a wayward tackle.

MOTM: Stuart Edmed
Goals: Rob Cockayne, Duncan Field, Stuart Edmed.

Team: John Edmed (GK), Nick Hall (C), Andrew Wishart, Rob Harrison, James Abrahams, Stuart Edmed, Chris Jackson, Adrian Gander, Duncan Field, Rob Cockayne, Tom Bartlett
Umpire : Andy McVarish

Match Report by James Abrahams (Edited by Nick Hall)

Match details

Match date

Sat 26 Oct 2019

Kickoff

16:30

Meet time

15:30

Instructions

Rochester Maths School

Competition

Kent Open League - Division 3

League position

1
Sutton Valence Mens 3's
7
Old Williamsonians Mens 5th XI
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Senior Teams Sponsor - Ainsworth Civils Engineering Limited