Men's 2nd XI
Matches
Sat 16 Oct 2021  ·  Invicta Men's Division 1
Canterbury 4
2
3
Tunbridge Wells Hockey Club
Men's 2nd XI
An away day return please

An away day return please

David Judge18 Oct 2021 - 14:36
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https://www.twhc.co.uk/teams/2

Four from four

It's a long away trip to Canterbury and you want to return with something. Defence tends to win leagues and this was our best defensive performance so far. Only one short corner conceded and Matt only had to make two direct saves with another 1-2 shots off-target. Luke Barrett made a composed debut and helped the solidity of the back 4 being deployed at left and centre back. From the first whistle Canterbury set an aggressive press and this resulted in them turning us over in our own 25 and going 1-0 up. However we adapted and stuck to our passing game aligned with an aerial strategy to clear their first line. We came back strongly and gained more possession with the only constant issue being a particularly bobbly surface. Toby Sambrook was unlucky to have a goal disallowed for height and we began to gain the upper hand. Luckily, we had employed Marcus O'Riordian at centre half and he deployed his considerable cricket (as well as hockey skills) to ensure we had a pivot for our transition game. Marcus scored with a strong strike from the top of the D to draw us level.
Frustratingly Canterbury scored with their only corner to go 2-1 up. We changed our press to deny them width and force them to play through the middle. They did so poorly and we kept winning the ball in high areas. This led to several circle penetrations and corners won and this led to Tim Sylvester clinically dispatching a rebound at chest height for his 5th goal in the league.
With 2 mins to go we intercepted the ball and out-letted to Seb Wright at the halfway line. He held the ball calmly and ran on an angle beating one man and then opening a clear path to the D. He kept close control of the ball to escape a further defender, noted the on-rushing goalkeeper and hit a beautiful ball into the bottom left hand corner. A fine goal for a fine young player. The whistle went 30 seconds later leaving us with a 3-2 win.
Our discipline was excellent with only one green card for a tackle (junior Judge's first but what chance does he have with his father's genes !), no chat and the team responded excellently to the tactical changes requested of them. A hugely pleasing win, we stuck to our principles and deserved the result.

Match details

Match date

Sat 16 Oct 2021

Kickoff

12:00

Meet time

11:00

Competition

Invicta Men's Division 1

League position

2
Canterbury 4
4
Tunbridge Wells 2
Team overview
Further reading