The pessimists amongst us clung to last year's 4-1 defeat and thought it was all over before we'd even begun. Andy T, however, predicted we'd get a 2-1 against them. Thanks to a superb effort from all involved, Rob B and Shahzad both scored spectacular goals, while Stortford could only find one. Indeed, John G and Rob B made some great shots on goal on a number of occasions. Sadly, Shahzad scored his in the wrong goal, so it finished as a 2-1 loss.

Michael G made some fantastic saves, including one where a ball destined for the very top of the goal was casually swatted clean over the fence. Garth provided cool and calm leadership in defence throughout.

The doctors provided some great movement in midfield, with Ian M making runs through the centre and Stu making himself available on the wing.

Andy T earned both MoM and LoM - for preventing one of their strikers from having the ball right through the entire game, right until… "I've got it" … "No, you haven't" … massive clattering of sticks … whistle.

JJ and Rob B are always telling us that to be in the M4s, you have to be hungry to play hockey. We certainly were after working hard against a solid fielding from Bishop's Stortford.

I am told words to the effect of, "John did a perfect short corner injection which was stopped perfectly by Stu C. However, Rob B decided he wasn't interested in scoring goals and strolled off."

A very enjoyable friendly to start the season…and the match tea hot-dogs were excellent!