In our third meeting of the season this was the decider. Having mistakenly (or perhaps it was well planned?) beaten the 3rd XI in pre-season they had their revenge by pinning us down in the second match with a solid 3-0 win.

Therefore, with a determination to not fall foul to our usual slow start, we secured a solid footing in the game through assured defending, great saves and penetrating attacks. Sporting a club woolly hat our “young man in disguise,” Alex, tenaciously frustrated their midfield and defence - and their mistakes kept coming. Chances were created, including shots from Clarky, which confirmed our dominance as we went into half -time at 0:0.

We continued to rattle them at the beginning of the second half. Our trio of youngsters, Alex, Calen and Arran linking up well to showcase their talents as future 3rd XI (and beyond) players.

However, hockey doesn’t always reward the most deserving and I’d love to say that we sportingly gifted them their first goal to ease their obvious nerves but unfortunately the gift was unplanned and totally of our own making!

Having put our bodies on the line, the inevitable then happened: our bodies simply fell apart. Having wooed the crowd with his aerials, fan favourite Alan was forced to take time out to nurse his hamstring. Second to go was Calen (yes surprisingly one of our youngsters), who cramped up after having made numerous terrorising runs down the wing. Following another fast counter attack, the 3rd XI put the ball in the goal for the second time leaving Rich and me both injured from a freak comedy tangle as we tried in vain to stop the goal.

Needless to say, we have been in this situation before and we clawed our way back into the game. While a hint of the “dark arts” may have been in evidence, it was our hockey skills and tactical awareness that forced further penalty corners and saves. Despite the tough work out, the 3rd XI took the points and deservedly sit 5 points clear at the top of the league.

All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable inter-club match which sets both teams up for a promising second half of the season. Come on you “Old Boys”!

Match Report : Nick Chandler
MOM : Alex Rapp

JOS: 3 unnamed 3rd XI players for their air shots, open goal misses and stick throwing – pure comedy!