An 11am push-back combined with the first frosts of the year had put this game in some doubt. However, the brave (and shivering) 12 gathered at the meet to hear that BD had been in touch to declare that the pitch was ‘already perfectly playable’. No chance of some surreptitious Christmas shopping, then...

On inspection, the pitch was as described, although it sounded rather hard underneath. Not a day for diving deflections (does anyone do those in Division 5?). BD 3rds are their club’s youth development side, with 4 adults and a cast of teenagers around them, and they brought the expected style for such teams; well structured hockey, moving the ball around the back, continually probing for gaps in the opposition defence. Our game was a bit more direct, relying more on early feeds up to the front men and slipped passes in higher areas of the pitch. The approaches more or less cancelled each other out in the first half. There were dangerous situations in both circles, but nothing more than half-chances for either team.

It opened up a bit in the second period, and it was the hosts who created the first clear cut opportunity. A typically well constructed attack outmanoeuvred our defence to the point where their left winger received the ball, unmarked, at the top of the circle. Johnny B proved more than good enough to kick his shot to safety. It was only a temporary reprieve, as a well worked short put BD ahead; the receiver played a one-two with the right slip man, flicking the return ball first-time high into the net. Somewhere close to undefendable.

Given the lack of clear cut scoring chances we had created, it was looking grim at this point. Fortunately, we got a break to get back into the game. James played a hard pass upfield which Andy deflected on to Tom, just outside the circle, back to goal. Tom considered his options, and went for a 180° degree spin combined with a dragged release into the danger area (I believe the technical name for this move is a “Half-Chalk”). The ball departed Tom’s stick ~50cm outside the circle, hit the foot of the nearest defender and then took another couple of wild ricochets off defensive sticks/bodies before thumping into the goal. An own goal, the first in our favour [Nobody ever found out if Neil’s OG against us at 11:20 on 1/10, i.e. the day the rules change, was the first in all of Britain, did they?].

Our tails were now up, and we soon had the game turned on its head. A counter-attack down the left flank involving Ali and Tom fed the ball into Andy in the circle, posted up. Andy twisted and shot, the ‘keeper saved, with the rebound falling for Tom who scrambled home on the reverse stick. Soon after, there was a chance from a short corner to extend the lead. The routine went awry but fell nicely for James; his shot on the turn flashed narrowly wide of goal.

The main question was whether we could keep BD out? The answer turned out to be “No”, an equaliser coming from a direct flick from a short corner. The ball went high but then arrived at Johnny with nasty dip and essentially yorked him. Paul, on station behind his ‘keeper, got a stick on the ball, but couldn’t stop it. After the match, both players expressed disappointment that they hadn’t kept the shot out, which was taking self-flagellation much too far in my opinion. Dealing with a ball bouncing right at your feet is a truly tricky thing for a ‘keeper to deal with (there is a reason why a well executed yorker is one of the most difficult deliveries for a batsman to keep out), and for Paul to have controlled the ball as it suddenly appeared was a 1:100 chance at best.

Our hopes for re-taking the lead took a blow when Neil, defending right under the Umpires nose, ended a BD move with a deliberate foot. Out popped the yellow card, our first sin-binning of the season. The ten men held out for the remaining few minutes comfortably enough, and we even had the greater attacking threat through dribbles from Tom and Andrew in this period, but they came to nothing and the match finished all square. Probably a fair result on balance. It ended our recent winning run, and only time will tell if it represents two points dropped or one point gained, but for now it keeps us second in the table.