Marden Russets Hockey Club
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20th October 2007
Marden Russets 1-3 Sutton Valence
It was 1,701 days since Marden Russets last met Sutton Valence in a competitive fixture.
The score on that crisp February day in 2003 was 3-1 to a Sutton Valence side who would
ultimately be promoted that season, and whilst the context of this fixture was quite different,
the score was the same.
George Orwell famously said that, ‘serious sport is war minus the shooting’, and without the
futility of the former, in a parallel universe, Russets’ captain Sam Traill may have led a
warring faction, up the hill to plunder the Queen’s Head for its’ nuts, and Scampi Flavoured
Fries. The local rivalry, the shared history, geography, and biology (uugh!), all contribute
to add spice to what was essentially, an early-season mid-table clash.
It had been 40,824 long hours; 2,449,440 long minutes, waiting to redress the local
balance of power, only for the seventy that counted to prove so disappointing for the home
side. The visitors scored two well-constructed but preventable first half goals, driving at the
heart of Marden’s defence, committing defenders before shooting from close range. Traill
swept home Marden’s only goal from an acute angle at the start of the second half, and
several further chances came and went, before Valence made sure of the three points in
the last minute from a short-corner.
Sevenoaks 0 – 1 Marden 2nd XI
Marden travelled to Sevenoaks with yet again a changed team, and after last minute
worries about which ground they were playing turned up early. The early exchanges where
pretty even with an experienced Oaks team moving the ball around the better. But Marden
worked harder off the ball chasing and harrying at every opportunity. Despite being
dominate Oaks had no clear cut chances as yet again the back line of Wilday, Redman,
Horton and Hunter looked solid. This was helped by the fact they were unchanged for the
forth game running. It was scoreless at the break but Marden should have gone in ahead
with Cooper wasting a good chance after more tireless tackling back and then Jones and
Brett getting in each others way when it seemed simpler to score.
The second half followed the same pattern, with Marden’s younger legs and fitness starting
to make the difference. Even when playing 15minutes with 10 after a yellow made no
difference as they pushed forward, you would have thought it was 11 Vs 11. There has
been a trend for debut goals lately and this week was no different. Ed Jones chasing a
long hopeful ball to the corner. Somehow he kept it in, then showing great composure beat
his man and laid it off to the on rushing Ant Hughes, who hit a screamer into the top corner
from the edge of the D. Despite late pressure Oaks had no clear cut chances and Marden
held on for a deserved victory. This leaves second by goal difference and in confident
mood ahead of next weeks home game against Cliftonville
Marden 3rd XI 1 – 2 Old Bordenians
In a weekend of sporting disappointments, Old Bordenians snaffled the points with the last
touch of the game, maintaining the rather bizarre sequence of the team scoring first going
on to lose!
After the recent goal-fests, the first half was a tense and tight affair with the visitors looking
confident in possession but failing to create many clear sights of goal. Russets harried well
in midfield but found similar problems in the final third of the pitch, until that is S Wickham
rampaged his way down the right and smacked a thunderbolt into the far corner. Half time,
1-0 to Marden.
The second period was barely 30 seconds old when Capt Davidson-Houston trod on an
oppo stick, seriously twisting his ankle and ending his playing participation for the
afternoon. OB sensed their opportunity and began to turn the screw. Their pressure was
now reaping short corners and Trow produced a fine save on the line to maintain the lead.
OB were not to be deterred and whilst I’m not saying it was entirely one-way traffic, if you’d
spotted Davy Crockett putting a supportive hand on Ward’s shoulder or shouting
encouragement to Steel, you probably wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. As it was, the sight
of Walker making his season’s bow at CF but winning a vital tackle inside his own circle
gives some indication as to the balance of play. With less than 8 minutes to go the Marden
defences finally cracked from yet another short corner and OB now went for the kill.
Russets rallied magnificently to protect their goal but disaster struck in the final moments
when they lost possession on the half way line and although Kennedy did enough to block
the first striker’s charge, the ball ran to his partner who squeezed it into the net. An OB
player remarked after the game, he would have retired if they’d failed to win such was their
perceived domination but Marden’s battling performance deserved a point. Thanks must
also go to both umpires for their contribution to an enthralling game.
Canterbury Vets 5 – 2 Marden Vets
Marden Ladies 1st XI 2 - 3 Tunbridge Wells 2nds
This friendly fixture started well with Helen Tipples scoring the first goal for Marden. Shortly
after Tunbridge Wells managed to slip in a goal. In the second half Marden went 2-1 up
with a goal from Anne Romilly. Tunbridge Wells then scored from a quick break and in the
last 5 minutes Tunbridge Wells got another goal putting them ahead. The majority of the
play was had by Marden with a number of short corners which unfortunately they where not
able to convert.
Sutton Russets 1 – 1 Tunbridge Wells
This week the Sutton Russets entertained Tunbridge Wells in what was a closely fought
game. Both teams were evenly matched and possession was shared equally between the
two teams. Russets started off very well in the first half and managed to win some penalty
corners, but failed to convert. Emily Sullivan worked exceptionally hard in midfield and
persisted in winning the tackle and feeding the ball up the pitch.
In the second half, the Russets’ fitness started to deteriorate as Wells seemed to step up
their game and make the Russets defence line work for the ball. However, our defence
held firm and we managed to make several good counter attacks. Finally our hard work
paid off and after several attacking penalty corners, Mel Russell-Vick managed to convert
by slamming the ball into the back of the net from the top D. 1-0 up Russets battled on,
however in the dying minutes of the game Wells managed to equalise. Overall this was an
encouraging result against a team who beat us by a large margin at the end of last season.
Marden U16 Girls report
Despite a resounding thrashing by Sevenoaks there were some positive elements to the
performance of Marden’s U16 girls’ side. Most notable was the determination right to the
final whistle by all the girls, who were thoroughly out played during the whole game. There
were also signs, although brief, of some useful passing and running off the ball, particularly
from Emily Sullivan. However, too many of the passes were directed through the strong
side of a Sevenoaks shirt, partly as the Russet recipient hovered behind their marker. Very
few attempts were made to pass to an unmarked player, when they were standing square.
Having said that, when it did happen, the results were encouraging. Though Marden were
outclassed, the 11-0 scoreline was a little flattering, with 3 of the goals coming in the last 5
mins. This season’s U16’s are predominately U15. Nine players were U15 on Sunday, two
of them U14, and none of the girls played U16 league hockey last year so they should not
be too disheartened.
Marden U14 Girls report
Russets U14 girls played Tun Wells 1 on Sunday at home and provided the crowd with a
thoroughly enjoyable and exciting game to watch. Marden played the more fluid hockey in
the first half and maintained a better shape, Talea Roberts opening our account. Chloe
Freeman scored our second goal and it appeared we would stay at 2-0, when, 1 minute
before half time, Tun Wells were gifted a goal through a defensive error. This encouraged
the visitors to play some more attacking hockey in the second half and they managed to
score two further goals. Russet heads did not go down and some determined defending,
by Georgie Waters and later on Emily Harris, led to Alice Walden Smith making inroads into
the Wells defence. Sustained pressure led to another goal from Chloe. With three minutes
left, after some end to end thrilling hockey from both sides, Charlotte Dodds struck the ball
firmly from the top of the D into the corner of the goal. Final score 4-3. Emily Harris is man
of the match for her effective play despite moving to 3 different positions.
All the girls played well and it was a pleasure to watch. My thanks to the three umpires who
helped out at short (no) notice.