Blackheath 2nd XI 5-3 Mid Sussex 1st XI

Saturday's game gave the 2nd XI their first opportunity to put the hard work done in pre-season training into practise. They were up against a decent Mid Sussex side from the league above, that boasted 2 former Blackheath players in Andy Couves and Luke 'The Body' Kellaher. Debuts were handed to Charlie Nelson, and new BOE member Ben Ireland, whilst the absence of stalwarts Dow and Forshaw saw schoolboys Bertie Page and Joe Allen earning places in the starting line up.

The first half saw an almost perfect start, with Coach Edd Thorogood capitalising on a defensive error to fire the ball home after less than 5 minutes. However, as was often the case last season, moments of brilliance going forward were interspersed with cheap turning over of the ball and over-complicated passing. A typically defiant performance from GK Nathan Bullens meant that Blackheath were fortunate to only concede twice in the first half despite gifting a number of chances to the opposition. Fortunately, a swift counter-attack through Lewys Taylor and Chris Fowler gave Thorogood his second one-on-one, and again he lashed the ball into the back of the net to make honours even at the break.

After a strongly-worded, but positive, half time team talk the second half got under way. The opening patterns of play were similar to the first half, but despite the best efforts of Man of the Match James Clarke, a short corner given away by Captain Prem Marwaha, meant that Blackheath soon found themselves 3-2 down. However rather than letting their heads drop, they rallied, and an excellent passing move started by left back Ed Bull ended with Joe Allen calmly slotting the ball past the keeper. Suddenly, Blackheath were in the ascendency and playing some excellent hockey. Youngsters Page and Nelson showed great maturity in their performances, whilst Ireland slotted well into the midfield. It was only a matter of time before Blackheath re-took the lead, as Marwaha linked up with forward Nick Surry, who scored with a trademark slap from the top of the D. This spurred the team on, and a short corner 5 minutes later led to a goalmouth scramble which saw Taylor bundle in for his first goal for the 2s. The last 10 minutes of the game were a defensive masterclass from Blackheath, marshalled by the experienced heads of Thorogood and McLean.

At the final whistle, Blackheath could look back on a tough, but ultimately impressive performance, especially in the second half of the game. The performances of the younger members of the team bode well for the rest of the season and ensure that there will be plenty of competition for places.

Final Score: Blackheath 2nd XI 5-3 Mid Sussex 1st XI

MOTM- James Clarke (closely followed by Bertie Page)