HIGHWAYMEN EDGED OUT IN TIGHT DERBY

Old Beccehamians 1 BEHC Highwaymen 0

So near, but yet so far.  Freakish results elsewhere in Division 2 mean that New Beccehamians now still have a theoretical chance of winning the league (though their fate is not in their own hands) and the Highwaymen would have actually sealed third spot with a game to spare, had they managed a draw in Beckenham.  As it is, a point in their final fixture against fourth-placed BBHC will now suffice, but let's face it ... the Highwaymen just don't "do" draws, do they?

A much stronger starting eleven, albeit without too many options from the bench, took to the pitch with a view to avenging last November's home drubbing by New Bex, and on another day the visitors in white could easily have garnered a point for their endeavours in an entertaining fixture at HSBC's ground.  The men from BEHC nearly took the lead early on from a fine break down down the left, and again when a home defender had to hook the ball out from under his own crossbar, although it is also fair to point out that the team were indebted to man-of-the-match Phil Cartin for a blistering performance between the sticks that kept his side in it.  New Bex often play better team hockey that K Sports, even if their selection process on Saturday might have been made easier by the cancellation of their Men's 1s match, although doubtless the Kent League will do nothing about upholding their own alleged ruling of making clubs cancel matches from the "bottom upwards".

After the award of a succession of short corners awarded by the home umpire, the hosts eventually took the lead just before half-time with a "topped" shot that somehow wormed its way through the visiting keeper's legs at the near post after dipping ferociously onto the bouncy astroturf surface.  A smartly taken "equaliser" by Matt Robinson shortly thereafter was quite rightly ruled out due to the use of a foot, so it remained 1-0 at the break.

The second half saw more of the same - well-worked New Bex attacks, more saves by Cartin, and the visitors posing occasional threats on the break.  It looked like the equaliser might indeed materialise after a well-worked short corner, where a second diagonal pass across the D to the far post was only narrowly missed by the onrushing Pat Gainey, but it was not to be.

And so on to LMG / College Meadow for season's end on March 14.

Team:
Phil Cartin (GK), Tim Walters, Phil Kinch, Richard Cleall, Stephen Gilbert, Ravi Wickramasuriya, Andy Rose, Tony Mitchell, Ed Smyth, Sammy Chana, Pat Gainey, Phil Bunker, Matt Robinson and Tony D'Cruz.

Man-of-the-match:
Phil Cartin - another stellar performance from the BEHC youngster who made a series of great stops and was only beaten by a cruel mishit.

Umpires:
The visiting BEHC umpire had a highly competent game, his home counterpart less so.  It is always very frustrating when many home misdemeanours go unseen, whilst every marginal decision seems to be given against the visitors. But umpires are like players - they don't always have good games, and on this occasion, it nearly threatened to spoil great match played in fine spirit between two highly competitive teams who never overstepped the mark.