Marlow women’s first team celebrate Colette Fitzpatrick’s winning goal on Saturday. Picture courtesy of Megan Ormond Photography.

--

Marlow’s first teams signed off at the weekend for a one week half-term break with two more wins in the England Hockey League West Conference, writes Angus Porter. 

First up were the Women, hosting Witney for what - even at this early stage of the season - was a six pointer, which had the potential to see the reds either get dragged back into the relegation zone, or pull a couple of wins clear of danger.

Despite their lowly league position, the visitors raced out of the blocks, while Marlow were far from their best, and Witney opened the scoring with a penalty corner which came from a turnover in midfield. Marlow responded with attacking opportunities created by Lottie Porter, Katie Windsor and Lena Sykora, but found themselves two down early in the second quarter, and when Porter, their most experienced player, limped out of the game, the situation looked bleak.

However, that moment was to prove to be an unlikely turning point, as the Reds stepped up individually and collectively, and player of the match Jess Rees-Gray, a thorn in Witney’s side all afternoon, got a goal back with a neat flick just before the half time whistle blew to go into the break 2-1 down.

The tide had turned, and in the second half, Marlow dominated possession and looked by far the more threatening side. Sykora equalised in the 45th minute with a stunning strike that beat the keeper at the near post. Marlow’s momentum continued, and early in the final quarter Lana Jones-Wallis rode multiple challenges to put a perfect ball across the circle which was deflected into the net by Colette Fitzpatrick. Marlow played out the final minutes with comfort, prioritising safety over a search for the fourth, with Emily Miskell prominent in repeatedly frustrating Witney’s attempts to regain possession.

This was a real Jekyll and Hyde performance from Marlow; they looked relegation fodder in the first quarter, and candidates for promotion in the second half, a passage of play which should give them confidence when the league resumes in two weeks time.

Marlow’s men’s first team also began their league weekend on Saturday, travelling west for one of the toughest fixtures on their calendar, both in terms of opposition and petrol cost, as they made the long trip down to Totnes in Devon to take on Ashmoor.

After breaking their journey with a team-bonding night in a Sidmouth hotel and a morning stroll along the seafront, the Swans were ready for Sunday action. Ashmoor boast a particularly impressive home record over recent seasons, and were eager to avenge last season’s sole home defeat at Marlow’s hands.

Knowing they would have to be firing on all cylinders to emerge with a positive result, Marlow started brightly, enjoying spells of possession and penalty corners in the first quarter, before defender-turned-striker Sam Rollett latched onto a rebound and coolly buried a reverse stick strike. The second quarter was evenly matched, but goalless, leaving the score 1-0 to the visitors at half time.

Ashmoor came out strongly in the second half, with heavy tackles and some heated exchanges leading to cards for both teams. Freddie Smith added to his prolific start in red, netting his 5th goal of the season from open play to establish a comforting two goal cushion going into the final quarter.

Ashmoor pushed on late in the game, but Marlow held strong to come away with a 2-0 win, leaving them with a 100% record, and two points clear at the top of the top of the table heading into the break. On their return, they look forward to hosting second-placed Havant in what will be the match of the season so far.