The L3s started the new year in positive fashion with a comfortable win over rivals Marden on a blustery, cold and rainy day at Radnor House’s school pitch. Sevenoaks’ hunt for their first win of 2023 began right from the off with the team pushing upfield with skill and pace. However, the route to goal was blocked time and again by Marden’s massed defence, making it difficult for Sevenoaks to create any clear opportunities initially. With any ball carrying forwards and mids finding themselves quickly surrounded by two or three defenders at a time, the girls had to use all their ingenuity and skill to keep the forward momentum going. This they did admirably. And it was a piece of quality team play that led to the opening goal with man of the match Emma Patel playing a great ball down the right wing to Oaks’ irrepressible Georgi Samuel who carried it along the baseline before slipping the ball to the P-spot where Tegan Peterson lay in wait to provide the final touch. With Oaks on top but Marden looking dangerous on the counter, a second goal was needed to provide clear daylight in the game. It duly came when an Oaks penalty corner was mistrapped, but neatly recovered by captain Anna Healey and the 3s quicksilver forwards manoeuvred the Marden defence and goal keeper to provide Katie Clyne with the simplest of finishes into an empty net. The second half saw a Marden reshuffle as they pushed an extra player into midfield in an effort to break Sevenoaks’ dominance. It provided the L3s with a few more problems to deal with, but with Emmas Patel, Holtshausen and Botes in good form – in combination with the experienced central pairing of Amanda Bishop and Angers Salmon – the defence coped well with the advancing Marden players. Not to feel left out, keeper Karen Chapman kept her focus late on to make an eye-catching one-handed save from Marden’s lone penalty corner. From there, the 3s intelligently managed the game to its conclusion to register a pleasing first win of 2023 and move themselves above Marden into fifth place in the Women’s Division 1 East league.