DREARY DRAB DRAW

Nothing quite cools the cockles of the heart like a trip to Maidstone on a windy overcast day, and as we escaped the traffic to arrive at the pitch 10 minutes before pushback, there was a palpable lack of enthusiasm in the air. Amongst the assembled side, 3 players has already had a school match that morning, 2 had been working since 7am, and another pair had had a heavy night celebrating their Irish heritage.

Luckily however, there were some ever-reliable sources of energy present. The forward line of Marly Jones, Ali Basham and Chris Fowler were full of spunk, backed-up from midfield by the evergreen Andy Slack.

And so, with little time to warm-up, the game began. At this point it must be noted that Archie selflessly stepped up to umpire the first 5 minutes of the match, as Annette too was stuck in traffic. And it was in this opening period, that the pace of the game for the next 70 minutes was set. Scrappy play was accentuated by the horrendous guano-covered pitch, but it was Maidstone that held a slight advantage. Being in a relegation battle meant the home side were more focused, and they managed to carve out a few early chances. A penalty flick appeal was waved away by Archibald, whilst the Madistone forwards did their best to fluff their lines when presented with easy opportunities.

Sensing a fight on their hands, BOE began to play some hockey. Gabe Downer and Irvine Turner were typically resolute at the back, and fellow youngster Henry Baines deployed some deft stick skills to carve holes in the Maidstone midfield. This allowed BOE to venture forward and finally penetrate the D. Chris Fowler had a reverse stick shot well saved, whilst- with his only touch in the first half- Captain Prem Marwaha 'skimmed the crossbar' on the half-volley. However, this was as close as Blackheath would come in the first period. For all the legwork and positive play from the forward line, the Maidstone defence was relatively comfortable.

At half time the score read 0-0. The game was in dire need of some sort of quality and at this point it was anyone's guess where that would come from. This was highlighted in no uncertain terms during the team-talk. We did not come all the way to Maidstone to play like that!

And so, with those words ringing in their ears, Blackheath knew what had to be done. Building from the back, with James Craigmyle and Derwyn Baillie marshalling the defence, BOE began to awaken. Archie and Marly used their pace to harass the Maidstone backline, allowing Thorogood and Baines to pick up loose balls in midfield. This in turn allowed Tristan Lacon-Allin to venture forward and put a pin-point pass into the D to Chris Fowler, who lashed the ball first time into the side board. 1-0. A few moments later, it should have been 2. Slacky picked up the ball on the 25 and drove to the baseline. His cut back found Archie, but his effort was smartly saved on the line by a Maidstone defender, who bravely decided to use his feet rather than his stick. But, obstructed by a sea of players, neither umpire had seen it, and the game went on.

And then, things got worse. Some sloppy play in midfield saw Maidstone steal the ball, and after a swift move, fire home to make it 1-1. Not ideal, but there was plenty of time left. However, BOE soon had to be thankful to their stopper that they didn't concede twice in a matter of minutes. A cross into the D was deflected goal-ward, but James 'The Cat' Craigmyle showed incredible reactions to push the ball past the post.

Then, came one (almost two) moments of brilliance from Fowler. Firstly, in a move straight from the training ground, Thorogood launched a ball into the D, where Fowler was on hand to deftly attempt to lob over the keeper. Rooted to the ground, the man between the sticks was relieved to see the ball land on the roof of the net. With the second chance, he wasn't to be so lucky. Basham won the ball in midfield and sent Fowler on his way. A quick turn inside the D and an unstoppable reverse-stick strike thundered home. The Maidstone crowd were stunned into silence.

Yet, as the gloomy opening gambit of this piece suggests, there was one last twist to the tale....

With only 8 or so minutes left, a short corner to the home side. A routine straight-strike, which Craigmyle was preparing to harmlessly kick away, when the ball struck the ridge surrounding the penalty spot and deflected up above the backboard. Confusion abounded, but the goal stood. This was to be the last significant piece of play in a bland game of hockey that was only accentuated by BOE's diamond in the rough, Chris Fowler.

Final score:

Maidstone 2nd XI 2 - 2 Blackheath and OEs 2nd XI

MOTM: Fowler- played well throughout, goals were an added bonus.

DOTD: Prem- went out Friday night and it showed....