THE GREAT ESCAPE (PART 3)

BEHC Dynamos 2 BEHC Highwaymen 3

Yet again, the Highwaymen managed to reap the spoils and win, coming from behind to lead by two goals and then hang on by their fingernails at the death.  Andy Cook's latest vintage of Dynamos look to be the cream of recent crops, with no fewer than eight on-field development youngsters supplemented by just three senior pros providing an almost perfect blend of talent.  With four of their last five fixtures against sides below them in the division, they deserve to go on a winning run themselves to round off an impressive season, but on this occasion the team had to swallow a tough defeat against the ever resourceful and ultimately more street-wise Highwaymen, who have now only lost once on their travels in 2019-2020.

With three of the core squad either nursing injuries or missing altogether, it was a huge relief to see Ed Smyth back in action and picking up yet another well-deserved man-of-the-match accolade.  If he were looking for corporate sponsors, then the likes of UHU, Dyson and Duracell would come a-running, as he is the glue that holds the team together, the player who sweeps up all the loose ends, and the man with the apparently indefatigable engine who keeps going for the full 70 minutes, whatever the circumstances.  His energy was much needed too after a sloppy start by the visitors which allowed the Dynamos an "access all areas" pass down the Highwaymen's right flank and an opening goal on five minutes.  The home team remained in the ascendancy as the men in white struggled to come to terms with the tenacity, pace and intensity of the BEHC youngsters, and it was only when the Highwaymen began to dictate terms by playing wider and shorter that the tide began to turn.  Once again it was the mercurial Matt Robinson who turned ebb into flow with a great first-time strike to make it 1-1.  Literally on the stroke of half-time he doubled both his, and the team's tally with another fine finish to make it 2-1 at the break, although it was so nearly a first-half hat-trick after the home keeper somehow kept out an earlier point-blank effort.

Another three-goal haul still looked on the cards for him early in the second period following a one-on-one situation.  With the ball rolling agonisingly slowly past the stranded keeper and towards the far right-hand corner, it was left to home defender and namesake Matt Southgate to make a smart goal-line clearance to maintain the one-goal deficit.  Eventually, however, it was left to another of the team's stellar performers on the day, Ravi Wickramasuriya to crack in a trademark short-corner shot to give the visitors some breathing space at last.

Any sense of relief was short-lived, however, as both umpires failed to spot an attacker's foot, but saw a defender's limb five seconds later.  The resultant short made it 3-2 with thirteen minutes left, so it was suddenly siege time again, with the visitors penned in their own half, fending off yet more penalty corners, and hanging on grimly to protect a lead which now never looked like being extended.

The final whistle signalled the end to proceedings on what was the only occasion in the past three years where the Highwaymen were registering a second league victory against their stablemates in the same league season.  Both teams can take plenty of heart from the game, however, and the private battle to be BEHC's top dogs in Division 2 will continue unabated until season's end in March, with the Highwaymen facing a considerably tougher run-in.

Team:
Rupert Greaves (GK), Tim Walters, Phil Kinch, Richard Cleall, Stephen Gilbert, Ravi Wickramasuriya, Ed Smyth, Steve Miller, Tony Mitchell, Gary D'Souza, Chris Bernard, Tony D'Cruz and Matt Robinson.

Man-of-the-match:
Ed Smyth - back in the fold after three weeks out injured, it was as if he had never been away.  An all-action display from the original "player's player" ... the first name on the team sheet all season.

Umpires:
Both "home" umpires did a good job in a fast-moving, end-to-end encounter.