BEHC BRING THIER OWN STORM TO THE MEADOW

The menace of Dennis had cast doubt on Saturday’s fixture card at the meadow but a bit of good fortune in start time meant that the 11:30 push back would go ahead. Purley away had perhaps been the most disheartening day of the season so far. Not only had England managed to lose the World Cup Final but a stale 2-0 loss added extra woe to that wet October weekend. Alas, times have changed and confidence was high with a string of good performances and results stretching back until the end of November.

The 1st XI have found a new intensity to their play. A busy winter fitness period alongside a new high intensity training regime means that aggressive pressing and relentless leading has become the new norm. This pace of play was evident in the first 15 minutes on Saturday. Opportunity after opportunity went begging as despite being in third gear, the home side ran Purley off the park only for some poor decision making to let Blackheath down in the final third. As is so often the case when dominance is not capitalised upon, the first short corner for the away team bumbled its way into the bottom right hand corner of the goal making it 1-0 against the run of play. The rest of the half was a frenetic affair and when some pressure was applied on the Purley defenders and the ball won back, Prem pounced to steer the ball home and make it 1-1 at half time.

Stern words were had at half time as it was clear that Blackheath must do better and the second half was a completely different affair. A higher intensity but most importantly an increased level of composure on the ball meant Purley were barely able to hold possession, often resorting to belting it off the pitch rather than trying to manoeuvre through the lines. A free flowing passing move led to David Lawrence picking the ball up on the left hand by-line, rounding the keeper and sticking it into right hand corner with only his right hand left on the stick. Drama was to follow as a Blackheath p-flick was given then reversed before Purley won a p-flick of their own which they duly missed. This was almost James Craigmyle’s only action of the day. The away side flagged and 15 minutes of dominance ended the game when a short corner went wrong only for Lewis Burnham to pick up the ball and fire it bottom corner for an Ed Bull deflection before Laxman Karan made it 4 rounding the keeper from the opposite side to Dave.

A very worthy 4-1 victory at the Meadow makes it 14-3 at home in first 3 games of 2020 for the 1st XI. MoM went to Laxman Karan but stand out performance from Will Nurse, Lewis Burnham and new recruit Rob Mackichan were widely recognised by the team.