It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Old Southendian, with the sun beating down, the home crowd in good voice and the pitch looking suspiciously like somewhere you might actually enjoy playing hockey.

The starting Old Southendian back four arrived with a combined age comfortably north of 200 years, while the starting front four were knocking around the 90-year mark — the majority of which, we suspect, belonged to our centre forward!

The administrative crisis

Just before pushback, the captain of the day was suddenly confronted with a minor administrative issue which threatened to scupper the debuts of Austin B, Austin S and Leonardo.

Fortunately, Suzanne came to the rescue. And because she was also umpiring, we were eventually able to establish that all the paperwork was in order, the players were allowed onto the pitch and — most importantly — we could actually get the game started.

Having won the toss, Old Southendian pushed back confidently.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take long to realise that Brentwood Development weren’t here simply to admire the sunshine.

They had some very lively young players and, in particular, their centre attacking midfielder immediately announced himself as one to watch. He was quick, skilful and generally far too interested in getting into our D.

The battle of youth vs experience

Michael between the posts was certainly made to work for his post-match tea. He pulled off some admirable saves and kept us in the game as Brentwood applied pressure.

In front of him, the old, old, old back line — there you go Mark, I’ve mentioned more than the youngsters! — defended resolutely and battled away against the ever-approaching Brentwood attack.

Eventually, however, that pesky centre forward finally found a way through and Brentwood claimed first blood.

A change in the back four followed, and the average age immediately dropped a smidge as Leonardo stepped in.

And what a debut it turned out to be.

After a few minutes finding his feet — Leonardo found his mojo and proceeded to play an absolute blinder. Composed, determined and more than happy to put himself between the ball and the advancing Brentwood youngsters.

Father and son midfield magic

In midfield, the father-and-son combination of Jed and Johnny worked particularly well.

The pair seemed to have developed their own secret communication system, pushing the ball here, there and everywhere, making advances into Brentwood’s half and even getting into the D.

There was only one problem.

We couldn’t quite find the goal.

Out wide, Austin B and Austin S made their debuts as wingers and produced a remarkably mature display.

The passing was sharp, the pressing was committed and, most importantly, they actually seemed to know where the ball was supposed to go.

It was genuinely rewarding to watch the pair playing good, intelligent hockey — the sort of passing and pressing hockey that we don’t always see at that age!! Well done guys keep it up

Second-half fightback

Despite the scoreline, Old Southendian didn’t sit back in the second half.

If anything, we pressed harder.

The team continued to work, chase and battle, and eventually the pressure paid off.

A lovely move involving Austin B and Johnny saw the ball worked into the D, where Johnny kept his cool and slotted the ball home.

Cue celebrations.

Cue relief.

Cue several members of the back four checking whether they still had enough energy left to celebrate.

The final whistle. 5-1 to Brentwood

Although the game ended in defeat, but the scoreline didn’t tell the whole story.

For Old Southendian, this was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon of hockey — a team combining youth and experience, with some excellent passing, pressing and teamwork on display.

The youngsters showed maturity beyond their years, while the more experienced players demonstrated that age is merely a number.

A very large number in some cases.

But ultimately, the biggest reward was seeing the team play good hockey, compete right to the end and finish the afternoon with plenty of positives.

Big thanks to the umpires!

Russ - your roving reporter!