HIGHWAYMEN PROVE A POINT

Gillingham Anchorians Men's 3s 1 BEHC Highwaymen 1

After a really tough set of fixtures and in the middle of an extended run of away trips across Kent, the Highwaymen were at least able to sign off for Christmas with the accumulation of a further point to consolidate what looks like being a season of mid-table obscurity in a pleasantly competitive Division 2.  They managed to do what they had not done against Gillingham for five years, or even at all during the first half of 2019-2020: namely, draw a match! 

The pre-match analysis for this meeting was spot-on, as a low-scoring affair was always on the cards with both teams sharing almost identical goals "for and against" records, both being averagely parsimonious at the back, and neither being exactly prolific up front.  It was also somewhat ironic that this was a re-arranged fixture that originally fell victim to the pitch flooding while everyone was in the bar watching the Rugby World Cup Final.  The one thing Saturday's dry, bumpy, sticky surface badly needed was a good dose of water to make life a bit easier, as a plethora of early passes from both sides failed to reach their targets.  Equally frustrating was the fact that the visitors were not quite able to field the same theoretical starting XI from November, as it would have been the first time in weeks where the first picks were available in all the field positions.  Whilst the home team certainly had a couple of "reinforcements" in tow, the men from BEHC still had a pretty good squad available, with Andy Rose returning after a four-week absence, Steve Miller also back in the fold, and well-insulated superfan Hector Rose warming up for his birthday on the touchline.

The team briefing had been accurate too (for a change!): an ex-National League player at the back hitting long aerials, goal-hangers galore, and a large squad of really useful young development players all meant that play was stretched, end-to-end, and often a bit frenetic and disjointed as a result.  The away team's best chance of a goal in a game of limited opportunities always seemed to be from a penalty corner, and so it proved, as Ravi Wickramasuriya once more galloped to the rescue of the men in red by smacking home a great equaliser on the hour mark.  The least said about the scruffy Gillingham opener ten minutes earlier, the better, as even the scorer did not bother to celebrate the goal as there were about three different reasons the unsighted umpires could have used to disallow it, before they actually let it stand.

Overall, it was not a bad game at all, and the result probably a fair one too, although the Highwaymen were indebted yet again to a brilliant display from the "guesting" Tom Conway in goal to keep the hosts out.  It was  nailed -on man-of-the-match performance if ever you saw one.  The team has represented the Club well this term, making friends both on the pitch and in the bar afterwards, playing hard but fair hockey both in victory and defeat, and also realising that even if victory is all that matters for the first 70 minutes, it is never the first priority once the final whistle has blown.

Merry Christmas!

Team:
Tom Conway (GK), Tim Walters, Richard Cleall, Phil Kinch, Ed Smyth, Andy Rose, Steve Miller, Stephen Gilbert, Ravi Wickramasuriya, Phil Bunker, Pat Gainey, Sammy Chana and Tony D'Cruz.

Man-of-the-match:
Tom Conway - not his most spectacular performance of all time, but possibly his best and most mature.  Great positional play, excellent movement in the D to challenge forwards, plenty of useful chat, some fine stops, and all delivered with a cool, calm professionalism that exuded calm at the back.  One can only hope he continues his upward progress at the Club (whilst still turning out for the Highwaymen wherever possible!)

Umpires:
It was an easy game for Seneka and the away umpire to officiate.  The Highwaymen's improved discipline and reduced backchat has been a big positive this season, even when the temptation to question decisions has been very tempting indeed!