Men’s First Team 2-1 OMT 4’s – Away
Goal scorers: A. Tatla, L. Trevill
Player of the Match: L. Trevill
“This game started with a lot of potential controversy surrounding it due to the request of time change and availability on both sides, however we managed to come to an arrangement that suited both teams.
We went with a very strong squad that included a couple of debuts for both James S, and Oscar R.
The first half was a close knit game however the WHE boys were slightly on top, we were finding our way past the 23-yard line but not always able to get the ball into the D. This was due to either wayward passes, good defending or the pitch being toooooooo bouncy. The deadlock however was broken mid-way through the half as we had a sideline ball halfway up the pitch that was put into Dom, who aerialed the ball through to Luke at the top of the D, who cooly controlled it and slotted it past the keeper and through to Arran. He then got control of the ball and at a narrow angle managed to slot it home past a couple of defenders who were on the line. 1-0 to the WHE boys.
The rest of the half didn’t see too many chances for either side as it was fairly cagey. James T, Joe and Mike in our defence ensured that OMT were kept at bay with some strong defending, and we went into half-time 1-0 up.
In the second half, it was just as cagey with not too many chances appearing on either end, but about 10 minutes in OMT got a couple of short corners in a row. They managed to convert one of these to draw the score level.
After their goal, the game became a lot more stretched but still remained cagey with not too many chances occurring. That was until roughly the 60th minute, we get a free hit within their 23 yard line. Dom slotted the ball to Mike who was top D who slapped the ball at goal but instantly deflected up, and whilst the ball was in mid-air, Luke was there to deflect it to the near post past the charging keeper with precision. 2-1 to us!
It was one of those classic games where we could feel it was near the end. The game was stretched and OMT were piling on the pressure. Ours then became to hold the ball and essentially see out the time. This is where the defence really earned their money and put in a great performance to defend our goal. Joe also got a standard warning as usual – but he was also pushing the team to defend for our lives.
In the end, we managed to see the game out in a cagey 2-1 win!
“
as written by L. Trevill
That’s all for this week of London League hockey!
