SIXES AND SEVENS ...

BEHC Highwaymen 5 BEHC Dynamos 3

With both teams hit by a toxic seasonal cocktail of injuries, illness and half-term holidays, a number of guests were in evidence in both red and white shirts, so an element of being at sixes and sevens was inevitable for both squads, who are also, of course, the sixth and seventh-ranked teams respectively at BEHC.  Despite all this, some of the hockey on show in the blustery conditions was pretty good, and for some unaccountable reason both teams actually fared better playing into the wind, rather than having it at their backs.

The "home" Highwaymen scored at regular intervals throughout the first half, with Ravi Wickramasuriya capping a fine display with another smart finish. Pat Gainey continued his good form with an opportunistic strike, the returning (for one match only on a week-end at home from university) Ben Baker was on hand to strike following the impressive Phil Bunker's neat pass from a short-corner routine, and Dan Tye chipped in with the fourth and final first-half contribution for the men in red.

The Dynamos started off the second half at full-throttle, doubtless feeling a bit peeved at the home team's ruthless finishing in a game where they had been well in contention, but generally lacking any real threat up front.  The home defence held firm and mounted some very useful counter-attacks with occasional bursts of flowing hockey, one of which culminated in Andy Moore scoring with a stunning flat shot into the bottom left-hand corner.

And for six-sevenths of an intriguing encounter it looked like the Highwaymen would indeed record another clean sheet shut-out, as they continued to hold out against a plethora of attacks from the "visitors" in white, on occasion thanks to some useful goalkeeping from man-of-the-match Max Taylor.  But as the clock ticked past the hour mark, the home team displayed their now legendary ability to switch off mentally, doubtless thinking it was a case of the fat lady singing.  With all the game management skills of a kamikaze pilot, the home team decided to switch the throttle off and glide, rather than fly.  The young, energetic and skillful opponents made the most of this, converting two sloppily-conceded short corners and adding a third to give the scoreline a far more respectable look, so the home team must learn from this if it is to prosper in the upcoming fixtures against the teams in the top half of the table.

But let's not be churlish - it is still the best start the team has ever made to any league season, and once again there were five goals from five different scorers on a day when the team's leading marksman was ill. However, next week-end sees the dreaded dawn away fixture at Gillingham, the venue this time last year where the Highwaymen's 11-month unbeaten run came juddering to a halt, so full concentration will be needed for all seven sevenths of 70 minutes, including the final 10.

Team:
Morton Stanton/Max Taylor (G), Tim Walters, Richard Cleall, Phil Kinch, Dan Tye, Matt Found, Sammy Chana, Phil Bunker, Ravi Wickramasuriya, Pat Gainey, Stephen Gilbert (C), Ben Baker and Andy Moore.

Man-of-the-match:
Plenty of candidates for the first 60 minutes, but none for the last 10. Rookie Keeper Max Taylor shades it for some handy stops in the second half when the Highwaymen were under the cosh at times.

Umpires:
The two home officials did a fine job in a game with zero flash-points, but plenty of action.