Page 23 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.34 2022-23

Following relegation from the Premier Division at the end of last season, Woodley United fought
back in the best possible way, carrying off the Division One North title and regaining their
previous status at the first attempt.
Woodley are managed by Marc Surtees with Ellen Surtees as captain. May Hamblin was the
team’s leading scorer during the season and Brian Lackey has been singled out for a special
mention for his work off the pitch.
“After struggling last season, winning one game and being relegated, we knew we had to
regroup and rebuild,” Marc Surtees told Women’s Soccer Scene. “The core of the team stuck
around and we were able to add some very good players to compliment those we already had.
“The season started slowly with us playing more cup games than league games and it took
time for us to get some consistency, mainly due to team selection but also due to the fact we were
trying a new formation with new players involved.
“The turning point came in November when we visited Caversham United in the pouring rain,
everything clicked, we left winning the game 5-0 and playing some very good football, finally all
the hard work in training was paying off. That win was the start of a run of ten league games,
where we won all ten and only conceded one goal. Being able to select the same back four and
goalkeeper gave us a solid foundation which allowed those in front of the defence to play with
freedom. This was shown by the fact we scored 42 goals in that run of ten league games.
“In my opinion, our best result was the 2-1 win away at Penn & Tyler’s Green, we had to work
hard for that result and this is when I feel we won the league, although not officially until our next
game. This was our third from last league game and we conceded first, the one goal in the 10 game
run that we conceded. With 20 minutes left in the game, we were still behind until Ellen Surtees
exchanged passes with Mollie Haines and Ellen then hit a 25-yard shot over the keeper into the
top corner to make it level. We kept going and with the last kick of the game Charley Evans
bundled home a corner to give us the win we needed. This game was not our best performance but
is showed our character, desire and togetherness to work for each other to get what we wanted and
needed.
“Over the season we ended with the highest goals scored across all three divisions and the
second lowest goals conceded. May Hamblin was our highest goalscorer and the joint highest in
the division and joint second highest across all three divisions.
“ I have been assisted this season by Liam Prout and Brian Lackey. I have to give a special
mention to Brian who offered his help at the start of the season and has had a very big impact on
the way we have played this season. His training sessions have been intense, informative, varied
and entertaining and the ladies have really bought in to what Brian was doing in the sessions,
there has been lots of hard work and laughs along the way and credit to the ladies for taking on
board the new formation and way of playing.”
Photo - Oakmist Photography

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