SUTTON VALENCE: BREAKFAST SLOT

Dynamos put on an impressive performance early in the morning, playing as a good team unit against a quality opposition

Kudos to captain fantastic Paul for organising two teams having been overseas for much of the week. Kudos also to the team's diplomatic skills, with Sutton Valence willing to lend their spare keeper kit to the team.

But with the likely 'keeper' not having kept since he was a schoolboy, we were confident that we'd be more successful with a kicking back. So the team started out with a player-with-goalkeeping-privileges just in the helmet, and fielded the other ten men.

The match had a lot of back and forth with both teams evenly matched. Positions worked quite smoothly. Young Will Leverton was impressive up front (as always) and David looked like an experienced right-mid.

Special mention to the kiwi trio on their courageous efforts with the team - Jesse, Alex and Alex. Aside from Will in the forward line, Stephen put in a solid and honest day's play and was very unlucky to miss out on a goal..

But in one of the more amusing incidents one might see on a hockey pitch, the umpire stopped play at the other end of the pitch in concern over the welfare of the perfectly healthy player-with-goalkeeping-privileges, suggesting that he was too gung-ho and might get hurt. Any further playing like a goalkeeper would be penalised. I like to think our kicking back was just too good. So the team resolved that we'd have to kit up at half time.

Sutton Valence went 1 up after the player-with-now-less-than-goalkeeping-privileges had to have a chai latte instead of cement shake, and a ball got past and slithered over the line.

The second one, came from a failure to clear a short, with the keeper saving the first shot, but inexperience saw the ball struck easily into goal off a rebound.

Will scored our solitary goal, with great positioning in the D, assisted by the kiwi trio. It was an easy one for someone like Will, and he was able to strike firmly on to the backboard.

This was a superb game and the Dynamos really played as a proper, and seemingly experienced, team. We all enjoyed it, despite being one goal short. The opposition played superbly, and the Queen's Head pub of Sutton Valence is a venue that's highly recommended - it's worth playing there just for a visit. We were most grateful for the privilege of two umpires from said club. The keeper kit was our saviour and a treat, thank you. Man of the match to Alex Hayde.