Members from the M3s/M4s/M5s gathered under stunning bright blue skies.
Chairman John Greaves split the players into purples and yellows by first ordering everyone to stand in a firing line formation. Unfortunately, our collective hockey starved brains didn't remember what a line looked like without a fare bit of prodding, but once we figured it out...
1! 2! 1! 2! 1! 2! shot out the designations.
- Purples (M5)
- Yellows (M4)
The teams seemed quite balanced, with both opting for kicking backs rather than goalkeepers.
Purple players managed to break through the lines on a number of occasions, but were mostly dispatched, thanks in no small part to man of the match Andy Thomas, who at one point made a spectacular 'cobweb clear' as a kicking back.
Purple Simon Ta then managed to score an early good goal.
Skipper of the yellows, Rob Barton not having any of it, won an early flick, which was then skilfully converted into a goal via a lightning strike into the bottom left purple corner.
Play continued on the beautiful but rather hot day; it was clear that cooling systems needed to be topped up.
Umpires Ania Rygielska and Matt Kern made a wise decision to allow a drinks break in each half due to the excessive heat, forwhich everyone was grateful.
Newcomer Simon Kitchen showed good moves at the front, making some great tackles as well as insightful passes; while our other newcomer Hesham Mashhour, showed off his fitness and promise, as he hassled the opposition as they tried to break the lines. It was great to see them both enjoying themselves.
The second quarter saw 2 more goals conceded thanks to the young purple players Peter Creed and Alex W being well supported by newcomer Dom Reeve, leaving a 1-3 score at half time.
Alex Pashley was on fire in the second half, scoring a goal with a speedy run, after some nice team play from the front lines consisting of the youthful Paul South and Wilco Dijkstra.
Alex Larkinson, Laurie Ho, and Nevin Warren showed their experience in defence by dispatched most attempts by purples at goal, though thanks to the efforts of the skipper John Greaves, another goal was won by the purple side...
…and then another goal by the purple team saw the game at a score of 2-5 to purples.
George Toynton graciously took over from Shahzad Ali as kicking back, preventing any further breaches of the yellow goal line.
Rob Barton again took the hockey ball reigns, scoring his second goal by beating JJ and slotting it in from a tight angle.
The game finished with a score of 3-5, with both teams beaming with camaraderie and enthusiastically cheering the other for a game well played.
Thanks to Rob for sharing his memories of the game. He thought the game was reasonably balanced despite the 5-3 result, and feels we played best towards the end of each half, especially when we worked together and pressed them high up the pitch, even though we lost our shape at times, which is something to ponder on.
Delicious pizza and drinks at the Cantabs clubhouse were well received, with some entertaining banter finishing off what turned out to be a bright, thoroughly enjoyable day for everyone.
Match details:
Purples: Ky Ho, Sebastian Dias, Peter Creed (1), Stuart Creed, Jason James, Simon Ta (2), John Greaves (1), Andy Williamson, Alex West (1), Pip Ho, Dom Reeve
Yellows: George Toynton, Shahzad Ali, Laurie Ho, Wilco Dijkstra, Nevin Warren, Paul South, Rob Barton (2), Alex Pashley (1), Alex Larkinson, Simon Kitchen, Hesham Mashhour, Andy Thomas
MoM: Andy T - Spectacular Cobweb Clear