Reds suffer rare defeat but are still set for title
Marlow Hockey Club: Marlow beaten by Oxford Hawks 2s but remain nine points clear
Marlow Women’s first team must have felt they had one hand on the South Central Women’s Premier Division title, however, that hand was prized away by Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to the Oxford Hawks.
The Reds were undefeated heading into Saturday’s clash with third-placed Oxford Hawks and sat 10 points clear of the rest of the league with five matches to play.
They continue to hold a nine-point advantage over closest challengers Oxford 1sts, however, should the Hawks win their game in hand, that lead would be cut to six points.
Given their form this season, the Reds should have enough about them to get over the line in their remaining four matches, however, this first defeat of the campaign has brought some jeopardy to the situation when there looked to be none.
The home side began strongly at Pound Lane but were unable to capitalise on an early opportunity for Mabel Daw which followed a strong run.
The Hawks though managed to match the Reds for attacking opportunities and forced a series of penalty corners. They opened the scoring with a shot from a tight angle that crept past Marlow keeper Alys Ramm.
Marlow dominated possession for the remainder of the half but couldn’t draw level before the interval.
The home side then fell further behind early in the second half, but this seemed to ignite the fire that had been missing from their play. They scored from a penalty corner in the 54th minute when
Daw deflected the ball past the Hawks keeper. The Reds then continued to push for an equaliser but missed several opportunities as the Hawks escaped from Pound Lane with a 2-1 win.
The Reds are back at home again next weekend when they take on local rivals Maidenhead.
Maidenhead are fifth in the table after an up-and-down start to the year. They played out an entertaining 4-4 draw with second placed Oxford at Altwood School on Saturday, a result which should help Marlow’s chances of claiming promotion. But they couldn’t back it up 24 hours later (Sunday) as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Salisbury.
Marlow Women’s second team continued their fight against relegation as they held fourth-placed South Berkshire 1sts to a draw.
Defensive mistakes gifted Berkshire an early goal, but Marlow responded well and were playing the more fluent hockey. At 1-0 down, Holly Lochead’s quick reflexes helped her make a goalline clearance and South Berks also had a goal disallowed, and Marlow made the most of those reprieves when Molly Bodimeade weaved into the D and crossed for Lenny Conneta to deflect in a deserved equaliser.
This week it was Marlow’s Men’s 1st team that impressed as they kept up the hunt for a top five finish in the South Central Men's Premier Division with a 32 win over Staines.
After successive defeats to Bournemouth (5-1) and Reading 2nds (40) the 1st team can’t have been feeling too confident heading into a game with third placed Staines.
Staines had beaten them 4-0 earlier in the season and were in good form, but this was an even and well-contested match.
Staines were on top in the opening 15 minutes and took the lead with an amazing lob. But Marlow came back into it and, following a goalmouth scramble, they were awarded a penalty stroke from which captain Sam North converted just before half-time.
Marlow played with more intent all over the pitch in the second half but conceded again to fall 2-1 behind. However, their efforts weren’t in vain, and Oliver Green was in the right place to level the scores from a narrow angle. Staines continued to press for a winner themselves, forcing a series of penalty corners. From one of those Ivor Crampsie made a brilliant save but the action ebbed and flowed, and the outstanding Josh Morgans scored the Reds’ third from one of his many runs from midfield.
The second team were also involved in a topsy-turvy but well-matched clash at Oxford Hawks, where they came from behind to win 3-2.
Having gone 1-0 down to a smart finish following a nice, passing move, Marlow responded with goals from returning captain Dan Field and Mal Allick on his debut.
Hawks managed to find an equaliser just before half-time, but Marlow dictated play after the interval and came up with a late winner when Seb Hillebrand drove along the baseline and pulled the ball back for Dan Field to claim his second of the game.