A 'COLOURFUL' END TO A PERFECT PRE-SEASON

Saturday saw BOE host Old Williamsonians 1st XI at College Meadow in their final pre-season friendly. Old Willies will be playing in the same league as our 1s this season so it was a good final test to work on everything they have been building towards in pre season before the opening league game of the season vs Burnt Ash this coming Saturday.

It's fair to say the match was a pretty torrid affair where hockey certainly wasn't the winner. It was a fiesty and disruptive game which prevented BOE finding their usual rhythm and consistency. The opposition were quite content sitting back soaking up the pressure BOE built and then hitting us on the break.

The Club started the game well with a good amount of possession in the opening exchanges and went 1-0 up through a Mike Lawrence penalty flick after a foremarm stop on the line from the previous penalty corner.

After that we dropped off the pace and big holes were created between midfield and defence which OW's were able to take advantage of and they went into halftime with a 2-1 lead after a very well taken goal and a scrappy short corner bouncer.

BOE started the second period of play brightly after being given the Sir Alex Ferguson treatment at half time and we got back to level pegging with a very well worked team goal finished by Fergus Parker.

Unfortunately the game finished less brightly and on a pretty sour note. Ill discipline and poor behaviour from both sets of players on and off the pitch pulled the match into an attritional battlefield as a flurry of cards where brandished. The inability to walk away, keep mouths shut and turn the other cheek despite some intense provocation and brutal treatment was our undoing. It cost us. This meant from that point on we could never really control the game as we would have liked. Another lesson learnt and a sadistically good one to have in pre-season as these sceanrios will occur again. Oppositions will attempt to provoke and undermine. They will target certain players. There will be some Umpiring decisions we disagree with but we must rise above it all and have better strategies and attitudes to dealing with them. Our mental game was match our physical game. The team addressed the situation after the game and will again in training this week so it will undoubtedly be the last time it will happen this season. The game rumbled to a niggly 2-2 stalemate and BOE left the pitch knowing they could have and should have got the win and determined not to let themselves down again.

Overall the 1st XI pre-season period has been a very good one and really shows we are ready to be competing at this level. One more tough training session this week and we will be well prepared for Burnt Ash visiting College Meadow.

Tom Archer (Skipper)

MOTM Fergus Parker
DOTD James Logan