Hard-Fought Battle Ends 2-4; Squad Moves to Plate Competition

Mixed League/Cup Fixture |

Final Score: Home Side 2 - 4 Opposition

First Half Struggle (0-2)

The late Sunday fixture was played under challenging conditions, as a drop in temperature ensured a cold, hard-fought contest against a strong, well-drilled Opposition outfit. Sal even broke the base layer out to keep warm

BE started brightly, maintaining possession and executing some good early passes all over the pitch with some bright movement and play. However, the opposition’s disciplined and fast runners up top made it consistently difficult to break out of the defensive third and establish fluid play.

The deadlock was broken by the Opposition, who proved clinical on set pieces. After an initial good save by Alex, they capitalized on the second strike from a penalty corner to take the lead. They soon doubled their advantage, sending the teams into halftime with the score at 0-2.

Halftime Reset and The Comeback (2-2)

The interval proved pivotal, with a few well-chosen and motivating words from Kaz resetting the team's focus. The key tactical insight was identifying and exploiting the Opposition’s tendency to over-commit their runners high up the pitch. Sadly we lost Dan in the midfield with a hip injury so the men were down to 5

This tactical adjustment immediately paid dividends. The Home Side exploited the space and quickly earned a short corner of their own, which they dispatched expertly from a routine straight out of the W1 playbook to pull the score back to 1-2.

Momentum shifted dramatically. The midfield five of Nicole, Josh C, Viky, Sal & Wanni exerted excellent control, maintaining pressure and retaining possession, while Paul and Toby were pests up top keeping their defense moving and offering options. The deserved equalizer arrived through a stunning piece of counter-attack hockey. An interception in the defensive D was followed by a superb 60-yard pass to Paul W, who was making an excellent lead out wide. Paul W then slipped the ball across to Toby, who drove hard into the circle and rifled the ball into the top left corner from the right-hand side, levelling the thrilling contest at 2-2.

Late Goals and Plate Bound (2-4)

The high-stakes nature of the game, led to visible frustration. Unfortunately, Rob was unable to hold it in and was shown a green card, resulting in a temporary period of being a player down.

The Opposition capitalized instantly, scoring their third goal while the Home Side was shorthanded, making it 3-2. They backed this up with a fourth goal shortly after Rob returned to the field, cementing the 4-2 final score. the defense played really well against their aggressive forward line, with Stan & Tom F backing each other up and Mariana expertly covering their player and sadly getting injured in the process and Heidi stepping in front of their person to intercept ball after ball

Despite the late setbacks, the team showed tremendous spirit, continuing to play hard until the final whistle. The overall team performance was very strong against a cohesive outfit, and the focus now shifts as the squad moves forward into the Plate Competition.