VICTORY AHOY!

Gillingham Anchorians Men’s 4s 0 BOEHC Vets 4

At first sight it looked like the fixture had been rearranged to take place at the neighbouring naval dockyard museum at Chatham, or that hosts Gillingham Anchorians had already installed their new pitch and gone for a water-based option, albeit a rather extreme one. But the camera never lies and the picture above is not a piece of late Monet impressionist art, but rather a true reflection of playing conditions at c. 4.00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon somewhere near the River Medway. That the match was completed at all was thanks to both teams’ positive attitudes, the huge help from other Club squad members, and the commitment of both umpires, although in truth the hockey served up was actually tremendous at times, regardless of the wind, rain and soggy pitch.

Fielding yet another changed line-up (massive thanks to Mssrs. Hannon, Whitney, “Eurovision” Baker, Coleman, Deeley, Ainley(s) and Daniel) the away team decided to attack towards the “shallow” end in the first half, doubtless feeling that the unchanged defence with Steve Miller and Phil Kinch once again at the heart of things could keep their heads above water at the other end. And attack the visitors most certainly did, with Ross Ainley surfing at speed down the right with some great runs into the opposition D. But it was the guesting, or even “gusting”, Paul Whitney who really caught the eye with some great stick work and a whole number of shots at goal which were either repelled by the excellent Anchorians’ keeper or – more often than not – torpedoed left and right of the target, as his radar was clearly suffering from the atrocious weather conditions.

The home umpire consulted both captains after 10 minutes about continuing, probably fearing that he might soon be out of range of the lifeguard at the “deep” end, but the unanimous decision was made to carry on regardless, as conditions had not quite sunk to “Bambi on Ice” levels, as witnessed by the generally high standard of play on show. The deadlock was broken at last on 25 minutes by the younger of the two Ainleys as young Ross’ persistence paid off after yet another session of pinball in the home team’s D. The relief was palpable as he tucked the ball away at the left hand post to make it 1-0 at the break.

Half-time saw both teams literally take shelter in the dug-outs with at least two substitutions being made as a result of early symptoms of trench foot. There were also concerns as to the hosts’ diminutive young right back after the change of ends, but he appeared to be wearing water wings and so was able to continue into the second half, which was broadly similar to the first in terms of territory, possession and the plethora of near misses from the team in red.

That safer shores were eventually reached (1-0 leads are notoriously precarious even in good weather) had much to do with excellent contributions from the two team debutants. The tide had very much started to turn BOEHC’s way from the moment the impressive Richard Cornick had entered the fray late in the first half, so it was slightly ironic that the shot that eventually doubled the visitors’ lead was a bit of a mishit, but a goal on his debut was the least he deserved for a great performance. And likewise for ”Larry” Larkham, who made some telling contributions with his link-up play, none more so than when he showed his new team-mates that passes to the left-hand (or “port”) side of the pitch are in fact allowed and to be encouraged. Joni Coleman was on hand to raise his periscope, emerge from the depths and push the ball through for goal-machine Paul Baker to finish smartly with aplomb ... or possibly even with a "plop" ... at the left hand post.

The game continued at a pace which belied the conditions, even though a quick headcount of the on-board crew midway through the second half revealed that two men (both Ainleys) had indeed been temporarily lost overboard and banished to the naughty boys’ chairs for minor indiscretions, but even with only nine men the Club was able to repel any attempts to board the ship called “Victory”. The Vets therefore stay top of the table in Division 3 for another week and keep a clean sheet for the fourth time this season, although such a feat is clearly far easier with so much water around. Credit too to the plucky hosts, whose mix of seasoned pros and youngsters provided both hospitable and worthy opposition.

However, the last two words of the day’s proceedings must belong to man-of-the-match Paul Whitney who scored a magnificent final goal, drag-flicking a ferocious effort into the top left-hand corner to make in 4-0. After graciously accepting the accolades of his colleagues afterwards in the bar with a “Thanks, lads”, he then turned to leave through the open doorway ..… and promptly walked into the wall next to the doorframe. How appropriate!

Team:
Steve Miller, Ian “Larry” Larkham, Stephen Gilbert, Phil Kinch, Tim Walters, Sam Hannon, Paul Whitney, Paul Baker, Joni Coleman, Matt Deeley, Mark Ainley, Ross Ainley, Richard Cornick, Daniel and Tony D’Cruz.

Man-of-the-match:
Paul Whitney

Umpire:
Richard Cleall