HIGHWAYMEN DELIVER ON THE ROAD

Holcombe Men's 5s 0 BEHC Highwaymen 3

Plus ça change?  Well, maybe, maybe not ... Vintage Highwaymen this most certainly was not, but it was far more than an average bottle of vin de table, as the men from BEHC did a fine job of uncorking a higher-ranked team from Division 1 and toasting a well-deserved victory at a blustery Holcombe Park.  Apart from last season's reverse the team has generally enjoyed positive results against Holcombe teams on their own patch, but this was the first time the Highwaymen had come up against the "5s proper".  Pitch 2 maintained its reputation of having one of North Kent's genuine micro-climates, as the chilly wind testified, but there was no real advantage in winning the toss as the clouds scudded across the autumn skyline.

The defence certainly had a familiar look about it, with Steve Miller marshalling proceedings from the centre in his usual inimitable style, the talismanic figure of Richard Cleall prowling in front of the back three to great effect, and last year's player of the season, keeper Tom Conway, turning in another quality performance between the posts to earn a thoroughly merited clean sheet.  The less familiar feature in defence, however, was one of the two summer signings, man-of-the-match Ed Smyth, who bristled energy, intent and fine positional play in equal measure, at times on a truly magnum scale.  The red of the home team simply could not match his crisp white play, the matching shirt, beard and headscarf providing an irresistible bouquet to keep the men from Holcombe at bay.

The other new signing, Phil Bunker, chipped in with a fine performance of his own on the left-hand side of midfield, and a fine sense of balance was provided by Chris Bernard on the right, who has definitely found his early-season touch and looks to have gained a few inches in speed over the summer.  The man from Grand Cru himself, Andy Rose certainly caught the eye, even if one of his was slightly bigger than usual, but when he is anchoring the midfield, life is normally pretty rosy for the team, if not equally "rosé".  Ravi Wickramasuriya turned on the afterburners in the second half when the team was under pressure and had an excellent 35 minutes, winning numerous invaluable free hits (and breathing space for the overworked defence) for his endeavours, whilst wherever possible trampling over the opposition at the same time.

What was very different from the 2018 vintage up front was the seemingly ruthless efficiency in evidence.  Whereas previously the statistics tended to show profligate conversion rates where numerous chances went begging, Saturday was the complete opposite: chances were at a premium and the Highwaymen scored from all three efforts that were actually on target in the game, thanks to a brilliant hat-trick from the team's goal machine, Matt Robinson.  The principal weakness up front in the first half was the apparent inability to hold the ball up with backs to goal, as Holcombe's defenders remained quick to intercept, harry and tackle.  The situation was resolved by a novel solution on 23 minutes, as the visitors found the only viable solution to trapping the ball in the opposition's D ..... the hosts' right hand post!  Some quick thinking and neat stick work later and the ball was in the back of the net to give the men in white a one-nil lead at the interval.  Goals two and three were almost exact replicas of each other and showed fantastic finishing and two-touch hockey at its best.  The pick of the two was goal number two, an incisive 25-metre pass from the right wing following quick thinking by Sammy Chana, and a delicious first-time chip past the keeper from the lurking BEHC striker.  Fellow strikers Pat Gainey and Stephen Gilbert came close to adding to the tally, the former not quite able to capitalise on a late one-on-one, the latter just missing out on a cross from the left-hand side of the D, but ultimately this did not matter, thanks to their colleague's hat-trick heroics.

The game became as stretched as a stubborn Chablis cork after the first quarter, and Holcombe were a constant threat with their tasty blend of youth and experience.  The fact that they were unable to breach the visitors defence was down to some stubborn and dogged work by the back three and keeper, none more so than when facing a plethora of short corners when a combination of poor radar by the home team, the keeper's mitts and boots, the defenders sticks and, on one occasion, a neat header by one of the visiting full-backs over the bar all served to keep the home team at bay.

According to the pre-season grapevine the Highwaymen's reverting to a de facto Vets' line-up suggested a season of struggle ahead, but a confident pre-season programme gives genuine cause for some renewed optimism, particularly if the squad can harvest some away points on its travels down into rural Kent.  Based on this past week-end's performance it certainly seems that the team does not lack any bottle.

Team:

Tom Conway (G), Ed Smyth, Richard Cleall, Tim Walters, Steve Miller, Andy Rose, Sammy Chana, Phil Bunker, Chris Bernard, Matt Robinson, Ravi Wickramasuriya, Pat Gainey and Stephen Gilbert.

 
Man-of-the-match:

Ed Smyth - a highly accomplished display from one of the team's two signature summer signings, the highlight being a reverse stick trap of the ball whilst heavily outnumbered in his own D ... calmness personified and pure class.

 
Umpires:

Mssrs. Cleall and Wickramsuriya shared a half each and did a grand job in keeping a highly competitive game flowing well and without incident. The home umpire was good too, as she complemented the BEHC officials extremely well.