MRS. BROWN’S BOYS DO HER PROUD

Folkestone Men’s 7s 1 BOEHC Dynamos 0

This was a tremendous performance against a strong, table-topping team that could easily operate a division or two higher in the Kent Hockey League and is positive testimony to the current set-up at Folkestone. On the one hand it would be fair to say that the score flattered the visitors who were heavily indebted to a master-class by Chris Brown and a goalkeeping performance by Mikael Kiviniemi which will not be bettered in any BOEHC fixture all season, but this would be a tad churlish. It actually took one brilliant goal to decide the match, without which the visitors could even have snatched an improbable draw, but the most important thing was that the Dynamos’ four young teenage squad members were not overawed by the occasion and were once again part of an excellent match decided by yet another single goal margin.

The team epitomised the ethos of what the Dynamos are and indeed should be about – three father-son combinations and a unique blend of youth and experience to give a balanced yet competitive line-up. The family connection was strengthened still further by the back four having three of its berths occupied by Browns, the other two being Chris’ brother Nick plus son Louie (see photo). At least the final member of the defence did his best to fit in by being just as “follicly challenged” as the two elder members of the Brown clan.

Once again David Leverton was full of endeavour in midfield, whilst debutant James Elliott impressed in the first half, showing he knows his way to goal better than he did his way back to the car-park afterwards. And despite being on the receiving end for long periods of the game, where only the keeper’s hoovering of the away D to remove all traces of unwanted opposition possession kept the score down to 0-1, the visitors were not without the odd chance or two. Harry Southgate twice thudded the ball into the keeper’s pads and Stephen Gilbert oh so nearly got on the end of a ball one metre from the Folkestone goal-line after it had somehow evaded everyone on its incoming path into the D.

The wretched weather whipping in from the English Channel only served to emphasise the siege mentality of the visiting Dynamos, whilst the two home umpires did a great job by officiating sympathetically yet completely impartially throughout. There can be no complaints about the result, or more importantly about the performance on the day. Or as Mrs. Brown herself might have summed it up more succinctly … “Too fecking right!”

Team:
Mikael Kiviniemi (GK), Louie Brown, Nick Brown, Chris Brown, Tim Walters, Matt Southgate, David Leverton, Harry Southgate, Tony D’Cruz, Stephen Gilbert (C), Will Godsiff, James Elliott

Man-of-the-match:
Mikael Kiviniemi.