PILLAGE OF THE PILGRIMS

BOE embarked on its annual pilgrimage to Canterbury on Saturday and were hoping to continue its winning start to 2016. The opportunity to play on one of the best surfaces in the league and against a side that on paper had appeared to have been boosted by a very busy January transfer window, ensured a good game was in store.

From the outset BOE set a high pressing game against the Pilgrims defence and great attacking work from the Lawrence brothers caused a number of turnovers and interceptions which allowed BOE to penetrate the Pilgrims D on numerous occasions. This was rewarded 10 minutes into the game when this pressure led to a penalty corner which Chris Harden calmly slotted home with great aplomb to give us an early 1-0 lead. A sight the team have been accustomed to all season

The next 20 minutes saw BOE play with great tempo and they were linking up well from defence to the high forwards. It was then debut time for our new young South African player Sacha De Marigny. He stepped up and duly impressed from the first moment creating good space with intelligent movement in the midfield which Canterbury just could not live with. From one of these dominant moments Michael Lawrence got hold of the ball on his very strong reverse side and rocketed a tomahawk strike into the circle which Sacha duly converted with an athletic 'penguin slide' finish at the back post, to score one of the most impressive goals on debut for the club for many years.

The left hand side continued to be an area of strength and real threat. Michael Lawrence once again unlocked the Canterbury defence and a deflected shot off the keeper allowed James "Vardy" Logan to continue his amazing streak of goals in consecutive games to make it 3-0 at half time and finish a very accomplished first period for the club.

More of the same was ordered from Coach Calum Giles and BOE duly delivered. The pace and tempo at which the club were playing was the highest its been all season and a new dimension of one touch interlinking play from inside forwards to high forwards created confusion throughout the Canterbury ranks for the whole of the second half.

After a devastating weave and dribble from Dom Jaikaransingh helped to gain another penalty corner, Michael "Mario" Lawrence bagged himself a superb drag flick to the keepers bottom left to make it 4-0.

At this point, to their credit, the Pilgrims did start to create some chances and secure a few penalty corners as the game started to open out. However the BOE defence managed to keep them out with some resolute defending and claim a deserved clean sheet in the process - a feat which is becoming increasingly rare in hockey these days.

Some more great individual skill from Michael Lawrence again allowed him to run riot and score two more smashing goals within the last ten minutes to top a perfect end to a very solid display.

There were many positives that came from this performance. It was ruthless, efficient and professional. It demonstrated some of what
we could achieve when we play at our best. It's another away fixture to Burnt Ash this week. It will be a tough game as we seek to get one (or a few!) over against our local rivals. It's a match the team was up for the moment this game finished. Another win will help to continue our rich run of form in the league and take us one step closer to promotion.

Motm: Sacha De Marigny and David Lawrence
Dotd: Tom "Sheepy" Harden