And Then There Was Hockey - Again!

Date: Tuesday 2 March 2010

Tuesday March 2nd and sunshine, three matches, two wins and a narrow defeat made for a very satisfying afternoon.

The Under 14s had not won a match all season, and had been shipping goals like a leaky Roman galleon, but not today! King's Rochester came to Canterbury without a goal to their credit all season, to play a St Edmund's side with the grand total of one all season. Something had to give, and it was the King's defence which let in three - a hat-trick from Louis Glynn-Williams - and we conceded one. A win, 3 - 1, to restore a bit of self-esteem to the youngsters.

The Under 15s went to King's, and went 0 - 2 down. But fight is something the M5 are not short of, and a hat-trick from Andrew Pittard and a single goal from Charlie Goodmaker put them 4 -2 up, before King's pulled one back before the end to leave the final score 4 - 3 to St Edmund's. An excellent recovery in a match where both sides suffered when they switched off - too frequently!

The 1sts, whom I had not seen play so far this term, took on King's Canterbury at the UKC, and lost narrowly 1 - 2, after a match in which King's displayed the greater poise on the ball, and the greater threat in the circle, but one in which the non-stop running of the SES side gradually knocked the King's boys out of their stride. A comfortable 2 - 0 lead became far less secure as real pressure in the last ten minutes allowed SES to pull one back through Jonathan Clarke, before time ran out, with King's certainly struggling to hold on. St Edmund's created some clear cut chances in the second half, but also relied on some excellent defensive work from Robbie Vile, Rafi Stone, and keeper Henry Withrington to keep King's at bay.

A good run in the Frank Mason Tournament in ten days' time looks a real possibility.