Men’s First Team 2-1 Ealing 2’s – Home
Goal scorers: C. Foad, S. Milsome
Player of the Match: J. Thompson
“The WHE squad was stacked this week with loads of players available, even with captain Calum still off at Center Parcs perfecting his archery and vice-captain John unavailable. Luke took the armband and aimed to keep his 100% captaincy record going.
From the first whistle, WHE came out strong. We dominated possession in the Ealing half, firing off shots that were either just wide or saved by a super keeper. One highlight saw Colin whip the ball across goal to Arran, whose calm finish looked destined for the backboard until the keeper somehow flung himself backwards and got a stick to it.
The breakthrough soon came when Dr. Goals weaved through defenders and slotted home at the near post to make it 1–0.
As the half came to a close, our chances dried up and Ealing began to get a bit more of the ball, helped by a green card for Arran after a strong but illegal reach-around with his stick.
The second half saw Ealing grow into the game and start to threaten more, while WHE couldn’t quite find their finishing touch. Multiple chances came and went, either brilliantly saved or just off target. Our second goal came from a scrappy short corner that ended up being a right-slip pass to Simon, who calmly finished at the back post into an open goal to make it 2–0.
After that, we controlled the tempo and defended well, keeping Ealing quiet for most of the half. The back line did a brilliant job keeping their forwards at bay.
Near the end though, a hopeful ball fired across goal slipped through Linus’ legs to deny us our first clean sheet of the season.
Man of the Match went to James Thompson for some superb last-ditch defending.
D of the Day was Kieran for shouting at Linus to leave the ball just before it became a goal.
Special mentions go to Rob for stealing some shoes off a granddad, and Calum for just not being around.
“
as written by L. Trevill
That’s all for this week of London League hockey!
