Marlow's men close gap on leaders after dominant win at Fareham

Marlow Captain Sam North, scorer of the first goal on Sunday.

Piture courtesy of @gmwsportphoto

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Marlow Men’s first team were in dominant form once again as they swept aside hosts Fareham 3-1 to move within three points of leaders Clifton Robinson’s at the top of the National League Conference West Division.

The Reds were in such control after the opening period; they were able to take their foot off the gas in the second and third periods and survive a spell when they only had nine players on the field due to their own ill-discipline.

They cruised through the first period, scoring their first through captain Sam North from a penalty corner routine and their second goal came from the prolific Callum White.

Marlow eased off in the middle period of the game and weren’t troubled too much by their opponents, despite getting on the wrong side of the umpires who dished out two yellow cards.

White’s second goal of the game restored some order for Marlow and Fareham in truth were flattered by the scoreline. They scored late on through a penalty corner but were never really in the contest against a Marlow side now pushing hard for the title.

An away win is always sweet, but this one was made sweeter by news that Clifton Robinson’s had dropped points in a 3-2 defeat to lowly Exeter. It was an unexpected bonus and moves the side to within three points of the leaders ahead of Sunday’s clash with sixth placed Cardiff and Met 2nds.

Clifton Robinsons will host University of Bristol and there’s a growing sense that Marlow could catch the leaders in these final four matches.

On Sunday, Marlow’s Women claimed a valuable and well deserved 1-1 draw against Lansdown, but many observers felt their impressive performance merited all three points.

After a closely contested but scoreless first half, Marlow stepped up the tempo to dominate the third period.

They’d already gone close when Kerri Smith put the ball agonisingly wide following a mazy run from Maddie Peacock. But they got their noses deservedly ahead when Vic Allen finished clinically in the third quarter.

With Poppy Godfrey in commanding defensive form Lansdown were restricted to half chances and long balls. They had little joy unsettling the Reds’ backline until the final quarter when they managed to score a barely deserved leveller from their only attempt on target.

The point leaves Marlow sixth in the table and with work to do to make sure of their place in the West Conference next season. They have four remaining matches to completely banish the threat of relegation and recent performances would suggest they’re more than capable of doing that.

Marlow’s u18s boys’ team were handed a bye into the national finals of the EH Cup this week after opponents Deeside Ramblers withdrew in midweek.

The girls u18s team have joined them in their EH Cup final as well after overcoming Cheltenham in dramatic circumstances.

Marlow had looked to be headed out of the competition before they equalised in the final seconds through Tilly Olney’s deft deflection from a penalty corner. This made the final score 2-2 and forced a shootout which they won in thrilling fashion to book their place in the final.

The final cup game of the day saw Marlow’s u14s girls team lose 2-0 to Repton in the semi-finals of their EH Cup competition.

The tie was a high-quality and closely fought battle against a Repton team entering the competition as one of the best Tier 1 sides in the country. To push them so close is a remarkable achievement for Marlow’s young players.