SMASH’N GRAB HIGHWAYMAN SNATCH 3 POINTS

BOEHC Highwayman 3 Gillingham Anchorians Men’s 4s 2

As is so often the case, Saturday’s fixture threw up a number of interesting parallels. At the start of play, one team was second from top in Division 3, the other second bottom; at the final whistle one had moved up a position in the table, the other one down. The last time the fixture had been played at College Meadow the visitors had headed back home with a 3-2 victory, whilst on this occasion it was the hosts who were celebrating a win by exactly the same narrow margin. And “narrow margins” is what it is always about, whichever end of the table you are occupying, as the young Gillingham side could consider themselves a tad unfortunate to be going home empty-handed after a spirited performance in an evenly-contested and entertaining game. That it was the home keeper Tom Conway who won the man-of-the-match award bears witness to this fact, even if it was ultimately the visiting keeper who somehow kept out a flurry of late opportunities to keep it down to three.

The usual half-term availability issues throughout the Club meant that captain Stephen Gilbert was forced to ring the changes, with a new pairing upfront of debutant Dylan Smulders and Alex Muntus, Matt McGhee slotting into the central midfield area, and Sammy Chana making a considerable contribution to the game’s proceedings after he entered the fray from the bench. The defence at least had a semblance of familiarity about it, with Phil Kinch showing his ever-increasing talent for plucking aerial balls from the air, like Dick Turpin lifting a purse from a hapless stagecoach traveller. Chris Bernard had another fine game, exuding calm at the back with all the suave sophistication of a young Roger Moore, whilst the returning David Maltman made a couple of vital interceptions too, once again proving again that form is always temporary, whereas class is permanent.

But if the previous week had been lobster thermidor with a glass of chilled Chablis, then Saturday’s menu was more fish’n chips with a couple of cans of lager. The five-man midfield set-up from Maidstone was not nearly as effective this time around, although both Ravi Wickramasuriya and David Leverton tried hard to make it work, with Stephen Garth starting from the off on the right, and the excellent Josh Clark occupying the left hand berth. The hosts seemed a bit subdued, however, possibly as a result of the late pushback, the delayed start, or the colder weather, but there have probably been noisier Trappist monk conventions than the opening half-hour of play, which was as fragmented as a shattered car windscreen. But after 20 minutes and even slightly against the run of play, the home team picked up the pieces and took the lead as the forwards pressurised the Anchorians’ defence into an error inside their own D, and Dylan Smulders smouldered the ball into the far corner to open his BOEHC account.

The Highwaymen had a let-off thereafter when the visitors had the ball in the home net but were called up for an infringement as it not travelled five from the preceding set play. The reprieve was only temporary, however, as the defence conceded three consecutive penalty corners which they successfully repelled, only to be undone by some aerial tennis on the fourth for an equaliser that the guests more than deserved at this point in time. That parity was not long-lasting was again thanks to defensive confusion in the Gillingham D and some smart thinking by Sammy Chana who tucked the ball away to restore the one-goal advantage before the break.

A bit of a re-shuffle at half-time breathed more energy into the home side, as Alex Muntus dropped back and started to grasp the initiative with the game now stretching more than Pavarotti’s underpant elastic. At last the team was using the width on both flanks and starting to construct some decent combinations and moves, even if the final touch in the D was never quite there. Whatever the drink of the day, when it came the third goal was vintage champagne stuff and a definite early entrant for the goal of the season – it would not have been out of place several divisions higher either. Some very smart work out of defence on the left, further deft interplay in midfield from Mssrs. Muntus and Chana, a delightful long diagonal pass to Josh Clark, now patrolling the right flank and hovering in the away team’s D, was all finally capped by a supreme finish from the team’s youngest member.

As ever, BOEHC kept it “interesting” by giving away a couple more penalty corners and paying the inevitable price on the second of these to make it 3-2 with five minutes remaining, although it was the home side who could have extended their lead but for at least three heroic saves by the visiting keeper as the clock ticked down to 70 minutes. It is never a bad thing knowing that the team can win when not playing at its most fluent best, but the current crop of youth and experience has at least enabled the newly-labelled Highwaymen to start the season on the front foot, or “hoof” even. This will be put to the severest of tests against the team’s nemesis next weekend, Folkestone, a team who have beaten the Vets on each of the past four occasions with a cumulative goal difference of 1-16. Having been pointless till yesterday, our imminent hosts warmed up for our impending visit with a 7-0 away demolition of Sevenoaks on a day of freakish results. The previous leaders, Gravesham, lost at home, and the bottom team, Brombecks, also scored seven goals in an away fixture, so it should indeed prove to be an interesting season ...

Team:
Tom Conway (GK), Tim Walters, Phil Kinch, Chris Bernard, Ravi Wickramasuriya, David Leverton, Matt McGhee, Josh Clark, Alex Muntus, Dylan Smulders, Steve Garth, Sammy Chana, David Maltman and Stephen Gilbert (C).

Man-of-the-match:
Tom Conway – showed good positioning, bravery and speed off his line, proving that a pre-match kip does nobody any harm, and he only consumed ½ tin of Deep Heat this week due to various injuries. The best cameo of the game was when he cleaned out the opposition’s five-foot tall striker – brutal beauty in motion.

Umpires:
Mssrs. Bottomley and Benson, both from BOEHC, having “volunteered” their services as umpires for this fixture last Wednesday. They whistled brilliantly throughout, kept the game moving well, and even said they would like to umpire for the Highwaymen every week from now on, both home and away ………. no, no, really!