The 25th September saw the 1st XI’s take on Sevenoaks Hockey Club 2nd XI in their first league game of the season. A long pre-season had taken its toll on the squad with a few missing from selection due to injury. However, given the unbeaten preseason the team were confident of registering their first win in a new competitive league.

The first half started with a period of possession for Sevenoaks who got into their groove quickly. After soaking up 10 minutes of pressure Blackheath then started to take control of the game with Lewis Burnham and Charlie “Rochester” Speller playing well in the middle. We were awarded a number of short corners over the rest of the half. However, for whatever reason we struggled to execute properly and were unable to convert.

No matter, positives were taken from the half time period with Nikki conveying the message of keeping it tight and have a relentless desire to capitalise on the chances we will create. The 2nd half started with a bang, with two quick fires goals from MJ aka “The Giraffe” and the ever young returning Will Nurse (both from Short Corners).

This helped to reassure the team and settled the game somewhat. The big lads in defence Messrs Archer and Forshaw soaked up pressure and distributed well and there were some great saves from James “The Cat” Craigmyle. As the game opened up we were able to create a few chances on the break. One of those fell to Luke Bowman who had one of best games in the Blackheath shirt and he was able to finish a nice team move with a delicate finish over a sliding keeper.

At 3-0 the game was done, and despite being a bit too open at times, Blackheath were able to get the 3 points and a clean sheet. Overall, it was a positive performance especially for a first game of the season and something to build upon. Next week the team face Old Bords, which poses a different type of game and performance but one that the team will relish and achieve 2 wins out of 2.