GONE WITH THE WIND … NEARLY!

BOEHC Vets 3 Canterbury Friars 2

The beauty of sport is the fine dividing line between success and failure and that indefinable something that swings the pendulum either one way or the other. On Saturday it was most certainly the fierce and biting northerly wind which confused the pendulum still further, as (according to one of the team statisticians) a record number of woolly hats – four - took to the pitch for the pushback. And for the first two minutes it looked like the result would indeed follow the form-book as previously winless Canterbury barely touched the ball with the home team spraying it round the pitch apparently at will. Clearly the well-organised visitors had not read the script, however, as by the end of the third minute they were leading 1-0. Whatever sustenance the hosts had acquired from the box office beforehand, their defensive play was certainly not to be found in Quality Street, and it was no great surprise when the Friars tucked into another soft centre on the ten-minute mark to double their lead, at which point the Club’s proud unbeaten league record in 2015 - 2016 seemed to be heading deep south along with the prevailing wind.

But could the BOEHC Vets actually come back from a trailing position for the third time in a league match this season? Cometh the hour, cometh the hero, and fortunately the home team still had a full hour to make amends, although both teams looked like they could score with every attack at this stage in proceedings. In true Rhett Butler style, however, captain Stephen Gilbert did not hit the panic button and, adopting his best “Frankly, I don’t give a damn” pose, set about changing the course of the match with some shrewd tactical juggling of resources. In the meantime, the arrears had been halved with a great goal. A free hit on the right was worked across to the left, the Club kept the pressure on and the ball was eventually worked to Phil Goode to smash an unstoppable shot into the right-hand corner of the net, doubtless humming David Bowie’s “Wild is the Wind” as he did so. Scarlett O’Hara he may not be, but a proud Welshman in a red shirt ticked enough of the right coloured boxes to qualify.

The welcome returns of two injured stalwarts Jason Walsh – who very nearly turned up on time – and Pat Gainey – who most certainly did not – was a bonus to the home team too, as they were launched into the action from the bench midway through the first half. The equaliser was not long coming either, as once again the excellent Graham Green found a novel way to tuck the ball round the keeper to maintain his current hot goal-scoring streak, which was just reward for his endeavours throughout. And there were still less than 25 minutes on the clock.

The turnaround was complete when deserved man-of-the-match Lee Sandy scored what proved to be the winner on the half-hour mark. A stunning strike from the right of the D was greeted with his usual Leslie Howard nonchalance and modesty, but for 70 minutes he ruled the right wing with more nous than a Tory whip and the team were truly indebted to him as a result. And that was it in terms of the scoring, if not the action itself.

After a bit of a shaky start, the defence deserves the plaudits for holding on so admirably in the second half, with Phil Kinch and Peter Robinson continuing their respective fine early-season form, and the team welcoming the return from his autumn “walkabout” of Club President David Maltman. Switching Ravi Wickramsuriya to central defence also paid rich dividends in the second half, as the valiant visitors searched for an equaliser which would not have flattered them, whilst keeper Keith Elliott got his angles and interventions right on cue to frustrate the Canterbury attack both in open play and from a number of penalty corners, all of which were successfully repelled. As the game drew to a close the Vets simply could not capitalise on numerous attacks from either set plays or set pieces, even if they were generally able to douse the flames in midfield by actually having two of them in the team, both Peter Dowse and his son.

The final whistle to a captivating and highly watchable game, which was both played in excellent spirit and brilliantly officiated, was greeted with as much relief as elation by the men in red. Yesterday’s results elsewhere in the division mean that the BOEHC Vets’ team is guaranteed to get to December as league leaders, regardless of the result of next week-end’s top-of-the-table clash at Folkestone. Whatever happens thereafter (injuries inevitably take an even bigger toll post-Christmas on the Club’s more “mature” players), this has indeed been a memorable autumn for what was a relatively unfancied team in Division 3 back in September.

Team:
Keith Elliott (GK), Phil Kinch, David Maltman, Peter Robinson, Tim Walters, Ravi Wickramsuriya, Phil Goode, Peter Dowse (“the Elder”), Dowse (“the Younger”) Lee Sandy, Jason Walsh, Pat Gainey, Stephen Gilbert (C), Graham Green.

Man-of-the-match:
Lee Sandy.

Umpires:
Tom Cooper and Richard Cleall, both of whom had excellent matches whilst just about avoiding frostbite.