Gregg Covers Sport

Sevenoaks travel back up to the Nottingham this weekend still searching for their first win of the 2023/24 PTC Therapeutics Premiership season as the third weekend of fixtures commences.

After disappointing displays in the opening two weekends of the season, the Oaks find themselves sat in the automatic relegation spaces, having registered four draws and five defeats from their first nine games. While this weekend marks only the halfway point of the season, the team know that they need to start putting in much better performances soon if they are to ease fears of relegation.

With that in mind, let’s dive into the Oaks’ four fixtures this weekend!

Game 1: Saturday March 2nd 10:30am Court B Nottinghamshire PFC

First up for the boys in blue and black this weekend is a game against the de facto home side Nottinghamshire PFC. With Notts currently sat on 6 points, just one point above the promotion/relegation playoff spot, this game could easily be viewed as an incredibly important marker for both sides campaigns as we head into the second half of the season. A win for the Oaks would not only be their first of the season, but it would also see them leapfrog their opponents. Whereas a win for the East-Midlands side would move them five points clear of the relegation zone and provide them with a boost of momentum heading into the rest of the games across the weekend.

This is the first time the sides have met this season, and games between the two are often close affairs, owing to Nottinghamshire’s rigid defending and often Oaks struggles to break teams down. Both games last season ended in 1-0 victories for the Kent-based side, including an incredible effort with just three players, and the squad will be hoping to produce a similar result on Saturday morning.

Game 2: Saturday March 2nd 14:15pm Court A Villa Rockets

Saturday’s fixtures conclude with a clash against a Villa Rockets side who have quietly put in some incredibly strong performances to put themselves in 4th place after nine games played. The perfect example of defensive diligence and quick counter-attacks, Villa have only conceded two goals in two games so far this season, and those were against sides currently above them in the table. This season has season the continued emergence of Humza Mudhir, who has looked rock-solid at the back, forming a formidable defensive partnership with the incredibly experienced and ever-present Amir ‘Bubba’ Ali. With Daniel Kay and Summer Rice on the wings operating as constant threats on the counter-attack, and Saajan Patel and Daniel Ball as dependable rotation options, the Rockets have fired themselves into a position as outsiders for a title race.

When they faced each other in the first weekend it was the Birmingham-based side who took the points in a 2-0 win, thanks to goals from Kay and Rice, and the Oaks will know they are in for a tough fixture but with hope that if they can keep it tight at the back, they will put themselves in a good position to come away with at least a point.

Game 3: Sunday March 3rd 9;15am Court A Teesside PFC

The Oaks start off the fixtures on Sunday with a battle against second-placed Teesside PFC, a side just one point off the top of the table and right in the thick of their first ever Premiership title race. The rise of the side from the North-East has been nothing short of meteoric. Formed less than six years ago, the side won promotion to the Premiership in their very first season during the 2019/2020 season. After surviving their first season in the Premiership by the barest of margins, they then produced a stunning 2022/2023 season to finish third, and have gone one (metaphorical) step further again this season so far. They have lost only once in their opening eight fixtures, and that was to current league leaders and last year’s treble winning Aspire PFC.

Central to the club’s meteoric rise has been the similarly sensational rise of centre player Tyler Reeve. His exceptional play last season saw him called up to the England Development Squad for the EPFA Home Nations tournament in April of 2023, and a full senior call-up quickly followed, culminating in Tyler being picked as part of the England squad that made the FIPFA World Cup Final in October last year, and he has cemented his place as one of the most promising players in the world.

The signing of the experienced and elite Ed Common, who was also part of England’s World Cup squad, ahead of this season has proved to be the missing piece to the puzzle for Teesside, with the winger currently sat second in the golden boot race with 11 goals, eight of which came in the astounding 16-0 rout of newly promoted Hull and East Yorkshire PFC. The player ahead of him in the goal-scoring charts? His teammate Tyler Reeve.

The Oaks have lost all four of their meetings against the side of the North-East, managed by last year’s managers of the season Owen Swift and Paul Pearson, and know they will have to play to their max if they are to avoid the same fate this weekend.

Game 4: Sunday March 3rd 11:30am Court A Hull & East Yorkshire PFC

Sevenoaks’ weekend fixtures conclude with a clash against Hull & East Yorkshire PFC. After securing an incredible promotion on a dramatic final day of the 2022/23 PTC Therapeutics Championship season, the side from Hull find themselves bottom of the table in their debut Premiership season, taking one point from their opening nine games. Any club’s first season in the Premiership is always a challenge, and it is a matter of whether you can ‘learn on the job’ so to speak, taking every game as an opportunity to learn and develop yourself both on and off their court. Whilst they have suffered a couple of heavy defeats, losing 10-0 to West Bromwich Albion and the previously mentioned 16-0 defeat to Teesside PFC, the squad have kept positive in the face of adversity, and the performances of star player Kole Simpson will offer some hope.

Having secured their first ever Premiership point in a 0-0 draw against Manchester United last time out, they will now turn their attention to trying to register their first Premiership goal and then win. While the Oaks will go into the game as favourites, they cannot afford any complacency and will look to put in a professional performance.

Manager’s Thoughts

Sevenoaks PFC manager Adam McEvoy had this to say when asked for his thoughts ahead of this weekend:

“After two lacklustre weekends where the performances have been far below the levels we expect of ourselves, we are looking to build on the work we have put in during the four months since the last weekend of fixtures. I want the lads to play with freedom, but at the same time I want to see disciplined, professional performances that I know they can produce when they play to their levels.”

Games will be livestreamed on The WFA’s Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/@TheWFA

COME ON YOU OAKS!