Match Reports 5 December 2009

Fixture

Crawley, 5 December 2009

Result

2 - 0 WIN ( D Judge, T Edwards )

Venue

Home

Report

A crunch game for the 1's with a win taking them to a very respectable 15 points and ensuring Crawley would be kept at significant arm's length behind us on 7 points. After our gutsy draw at BBHC last week there was a positive mentality going into the game.

A slight variation was made to our normal shape with the plan of linking the defence, the midfield and the forwards closer together. From the start the variation was very effective allowing us to play a very high press and put the Crawley playmaker/sweeper under considerable pressure.

Although we dominated the 1st half it did not yield any goals even though we had shots on target and corners won. However everyone was calm at half time and knew the goals would come if we were patient and played the same way.

An inspired short corner call from skipper of Fraser of "just lash it from the top you monkeys" simplified our routine and saw old man coach do exactly that with some generous support of no.1 runner's stick. 1-0 but we pushed forward looking to kill off the game.

Rob Bray was causing lots of problems to the oppo with his surging runs from midfield and it was he that retained possession high up the pitch. This was followed by an incisive pass from Jedi (who completed the full 70 minutes just to see what it was like) to old man coach who with his QE2 turning circle managed to fire off a shot that hit the goalie in a sensitive area and ensured Tommy Edwards was quicker to the rebound than him and secured the 3 points through sending us 2-0 up.

A deserved win from a team that will improve in the 2nd half of the season (particularly if we can maintain good availability). Particular mentions should go to the performances of Fruit, Rob Bray and Ian Fraser who added real calmness and quality to our play. A tough away trip to Holcombe next week but we go there with determination.

Team

11 for the whole game, with 3 subs as well !

MoM

Rob Bray
Fixture

Folkestone, 5 December 2009

Result

4 - 4 DRAW ( M Aurelius 4 )

Venue

Home

Report

Sutton Valence 2's maintained their league leading unbeaten record against a well organised Folkstone side. On reflection, both sides will probably consider the dramatic 4-4 draw a fair result - Valence however, may rue not taking the opportunity to claim all 3 points, having twice let a two goal cushion slip away.

Valence started the brighter of the two sides and were duly rewarded after 10 minutes with their first short corner - expertly despatched by Marcus Aurelius. Valence continued to play some expansive hockey through the middle of the first half. Meanwhile Folkstone struggled to mount any meaningful threat on the Valence Goal. The lead was doubled 20 minutes in, from another superbly converted Aurelius short corner - this time in the opposite corner. Valence failed to capitalise on their early advantage, letting Folkstone back in with poor ball retention and a yellow card for Steve Pucker (following some outrageous play). Folkstone started to gain a foothold in the game, managing to pull a well deserved goal back shortly before half time. Half time score 1-2.

Valence started the second half in much the same way they finished the first and were rightly punished within minutes of the restart, 2-2. With the real prospect of defeat on the cards, Valence needed to show their mettle. They responded and began to play the kind of hockey that has seen them dominate their opposition in this league. The pressure took its toll through further short corners, one of which was again slotted home by Aurelius. Then, from open play Aurelius restored the 2 goal cushion. Full credit to Folkstone at this point, who should have known they were beaten. But it was not to be for Valence, as mid way through the second half Folkstone began playing their best hockey of the match - a blistering 5 minute spell saw them strike back twice, undoing all Valences hard work. Johnstone should perhaps shoulder much of the blame having been rinsed by a 13 year old in a completely separate incident.

In the final 10 minutes, the crowd were entertained with some trully exciting end-to-end hockey. Both sides could easily have taken the spoils. Valence came closest through a well saved shot from the top of the Dee by Angle and a superb 45 yard move led by Barrels and laid off to Leak who, with all the time in the world and just the keeper to beat, managed to pass it straight to him.

Team

Team L. VonDutch, C. Johnstone, S. Pucker, F. McVarnish, A. Leak, T. Barrels, B. Angle, M, Aurelius, B. Tragic, D. Moran, L Webb, A. Delvin

MoM

Tom Barrels, for his talismanic work in Midfield. Lewis Webb also deserves credit for maximising his match fee without really helping the team score any goals.
Fixture

BBHC, 5 December 2009

Result

6 - 0 WIN ( G Mell 3, G Hagon, R Archer, C Henderson )

Venue

Home

Report

Valance continued their winning run with a convincing victory at home against BBHC. From the start Valence showed their intent attacking at pace and in numbers. The first goal seemed to take an age coming with shorts going just wide and rebounding off the post. As Valance kept composure the opener came from Gavin Mell at the back post. Valence continued to push forward and the midfield of Gary Hagon, Rick Archer and Matt Oakley controlled the attacks putting setting up more chances for the forwards. The second goal came from Gary Hagon as he was given space to run at the top of the D and finish with a well placed shot. The opposition had few attacks but a flash of individual skill from one of their young players produces a save from Valance that was cleared to safety. The BBHC keeper was kept busy and delivered several fine saves to keep the half time score to 2 nil.

The second half continued in much the same fashion. As Valence controlled possession and increased the attacks the next goal came after a quick break from midfield and a well timed pass for Gavin to take his second goal. Chad Henderson scored the 4th goal when he angled the ball to the back post after a great cross from Rick archer cut the defence in half. After running a tireless game Rick Archer got on the score sheet when he got to the ball first and beat the diving keeper to push the ball under for the 5 goal. Gavin completed his hat-trick when his received a pass in space in the D and lifted the ball past the keeper at the near post. A great performance by the whole team as we continue to challenge for the top of the league.

Team

Ben Gallafant, Will F, Arron Davey, Matt Oakley, Chris Stille, Gary Hagon, Rick Archer, Gavin Archer, George Thomas, Chad henderson, Jack Davey, John Edmed

MoM

Rick Archer
Fixture

Old Wills, 5 December 2009

Result

4 - 0 WIN ( S Aylott 3, R Ashness )

Venue

Home

Report

Good win for Valence. We played some excellent hockey, and cemented our position right up at the top of the league.

Team

Olly Aldridge; Nick Hall, Phil Morris, Iain Simmons; Nick Gray, Richard Ashness, Simon Aylott, Bob Sagrott, Alan Day; Justin Baker, Nick Ryder, Dan Armstrong, Pradeep Parmar

MoM

Simon Aylott
Fixture

Blackheath, 5 December 2009

Result

1 - 3 LOSS ( A O'Sullivan )

Venue

Home

Report

Valence started off the stronger with some great passing from midfield up to the forwards. After winning several penalty corners, SV capitalized with Amy O' Sullivan opening up the scoring. The second half, however, Valence started to lose their shape and Blackheath were able to get three goals passed. Lisa Devlin made some fine saves in goal as our defence line became bombarded by the persistent Blackheath attack, while Nicola Leggat worked tirelessly to keep the ball out of our defending quarter.

Very much a game of two halves, where Valence showed promise in the first half, with some strong set pieces from Carol Hazelton and Georgie Pares. The second half being a disappointing performance as Valence allowed Blackheath ample opportunity to intercept the ball time and again.

Hopefully the team can take note of where they need to improve in the New Year.

Team

Lisa Devlin, Zoe Wright, Nicola Leggat, Lauren Neve, Emma Poultenay, Carol Hazelton, Georgie Pares, Amy O'Sullivan, Liz Talbot, Sophie Simmonds, Sarah Lacey