Historic first promotion to the National Leagues
Marlow defeat Maids to clinch title with three matches to play
Marlow Women’s first sealed the South Central Women’s Premier Division 1 title, and with it a historic first promotion to the National Leagues, after they saw off local rivals Maidenhead 1sts 6-2 at Pound Lane.
With rivals slipping up in their attempts to reel them in, the Reds now hold a 12-point advantage over nearest challengers Bournemouth with three matches left to play.
They were missing two key players for the visit of their mid-table rivals, but they still had enough quality to get the better of their resilient visitors.
The home side got off to a strong start, with Helen Windsor opening the scoring in the third minute. Rachel Goodwin came close to a second, but the Maidenhead keeper stood firm, pulling off a series of excellent saves.
However, the weight of pressure from the home side finally told, with Lauren Hilditch finishing superbly following a speedy counterattack to make it 2-0 in the 13th minute. The visitors then cracked, with Hilditch slotting home her second of the game before half-time.
The half-time interval brought news of a shock result for second placed Oxford Hawks, meaning Marlow would seal the title and promotion if they maintained their lead.
This inspired the home side to take the match out of Maidenhead’s reach. Rachel Clarke finished off a brilliant onetouch build up with a calm finish through the keeper’s legs, while Beth Halbard got in on the act when she converted from a penalty corner. Mabel Daw posed a threat throughout with her pace down the right-flank and she set up Maddy Peacock for a chance which just failed to go in. Her first goal of the season still eludes her.
Martha Goodridge didn’t need asking twice to join in with the title celebrations and she fired home when the ball fell kindly for her at the back post. Despite trailing 6-0, Maidenhead never threw in the towel, and they restored some respectability to the scoreline with two excellent deflections to make the final score 6-2.
After coming close to promotion over the past three seasons, the celebrations started when the final whistle sounded. Marlow have dominated this division all season, winning 17 of their 19 matches so far and losing just once. Congratulations to the players and coaching staff on securing this team’s historic first promotion to the National League with three matches still to play.
Other results saw the 2nd team lose 3-1 to Haslemere 1sts, the 3rds beaten 2-0 by Reading 4ths away, the 4ths lose 4-0 to Oxford Hawks 4ths away, the 5ths beat Slough 3rds 5-0 away, the 6ths get the better of Newbury & Thatcham 5ths 5-1 and the 7ths defeat Scarlet Runners 1sts 3-1.
Marlow men’s 1st team look set for a mid-table finish after conceding late on to draw 3-3 with South Berkshire away on Saturday.
The Reds had beaten South Berks 5-1 before Christmas and were dominant again in this clash, but they were let down by several defensive lapses. Mark Lowden put them ahead after going around the keeper, but South Berks responded well scoring twice to take the lead. Chris Sewell’s ferocious strike levelled matters once again for the visitors and Sam North put Marlow back in front with a drag flick shot from a penalty corner. However, the
Reds couldn’t see the game through to its conclusion with the hosts netting an equalise with five seconds to play.
The result sees the side remain sixth in the table ahead of next weekend’s home game with second placed Oxford OBU.
Marlow’s 2nd team were regularly caught on the counterattack by an experienced and well-organised Andover 1sts on Saturday.
The home side were content to sit back and nullify Marlow’s attempts to break them down and they broke quickly to score twice before the break. Marlow improved after the interval, playing with more determination and intensity and a fine strike from Alec Land made it 2-1. Andover restored their twogoal cushion before Dave Harding made it 3-2 with another well-taken goal, but Andover countered on them once more to seal a 4-2 win.
Other men’s results saw the 3rd team lose 4-1 to Henley 2nds, the 4ths beat Eastcote 4ths 8-0 away and the 5ths defeat Amersham & Chalfont 5ths 9-2. The 6ths beat Wallingford 4ths 2-0 and the 7ths defeated Eastcote 7ths 53, completing an impressive set of results for the men’s squads.