Wimbledon Ladies rued some debatable umpiring decisions as they lost 2-1 at home to Sevenoaks in the Investec Conference East National League on Saturday.
The close-fought match was peppered with green and yellow cards from a young Wimbledon side who took the lead through Rosie MacPherson.
Sevenoaks equalised from a penalty corner – a goal Wimbledon felt should have been disallowed – and then won it with just five minutes left.
Wimbledon vice-captain Lauren Seaman said: “We are really disappointed with the loss as we always have tight matches against this team.”
Coach Sarah Kelleher, a former Irish international added: “Unfortunately decisions that were out of our control played a big role in the match, but I thought we put in a great team performance.”
After applying continuous pressure, a long pass sneaked through the away team’s defence and was tapped in by number 8 MacPherson.
But soon after a goal was awarded from a Sevenoaks penalty corner but the umpire’s decision had the Wimbledon team, coaches and supporters up in arms.
They believed the ball deflected off the body of a Sevenoaks player before it was scored and should have been disallowed.
The home team found themselves 2-1 down late on and, in an attempt to draw level, they switched out in-form goalie Abi Fincher-Jones for an additional field player in a final minute surge – but it made no difference.
After the game, the ladies turned their focus to the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the club.
A costume match featuring the women playing in replicas of the uniform they wore in 1889 – long skirts, shirts and hats – and playing the old rules to celebrate the history of their close nit club, took place on Sunday.
The men’s team enjoyed a 3-2 victory against Southgate away from home in the Pensions Men’s Hockey League Premier Division.
Wimbledon went 3-0 up after just nineteen minutes thanks to goal scorers Phil Roper, Chris Gregg and Ali Brogdon.
Coach Ben Marsden said: “We scored three good goals and we are delighted to get our first victory of the season.”
