strong>Preliminary Report (Awaiting full report)

Anyone who from time to time feels that life is passing them by should try taking the drive from Cambridge to Wisbech. The previous day I had driven 12 hours home from the Alps with no problems but on Saturday, stuck behind a beet lorry for what seemed an eternity, I was sorely tempted to throw myself into the huge dyke that runs along the side of the road (no, not Aston's mother - I mean the river thingy).

At the request of Kylie Graham the match had been brought forward an hour from 15:30 which meant that Wisbech could not supply two umpires and Jan kindly offered to travel with the team to ref the game - thanks Jan.

As I remember it, the match went a bit like this:

1. The first 10 minutes were nip and tuck with both sides probing through midfield but creating few opportunities.
2. Then Wisbech pressed further up the pitch with a sustained spell of pressure and scored from a flick when Paresh was adjudged to have made a stick tackle on an attacked about to shoot on goal. Soft.
3. South were being beaten to the ball in midfield as Wisbech marked tightly and held the ball well. They scored again when the South defence got pulled out of position, leaving the centre forward unmarked to slap in a good shot past Steve Parker.
4. Wisbech then scored a fluke third goal when one of their veteran players attempted a flailing reverse stick cross from the left byeline and fluffed it, only to see the ball slide through the narrowest of gaps between Parker and the post to go into the goal
5. After half time South played some nice hockey and spent a lot more time in the opposition half and similarly scored a fluke goal when Aston attempted a flailing cross from the right byeline and fluffed it, only to see the ball balloon up off a defender's stick and loop into the goal. That was Aston's second goal of the season, both scored at the Wisbech pitch; they probably think that he is a player to be feared ..... [fill in own joke here]
6. At 3-1 we were harbouring thoughts of a similar comeback to when we played Wisbech 3s, we came back from 3-0 down to win 4-3.
7. This did not happen, as they scored 2 more goals to finish the game 5-1.
8. Wisbech deserved the win. Perhaps the scoreline was a bit harsh on South but in truth the opposition played the type of hockey that we want to play ourselves - quick, sharp team play and confident, decisive shots on goal
9. Loved the journey home.