PROUD AND WORTHY IN DEFEAT

BEHC Highwaymen 0 K Sports (Cobdown) Men's 2s 3

Even as the opposition ambled onto the pitch before a choreographed warm-up routine, one of the home players was heard to gasp in wonderment, "They are a different shape to us", which was of course true (as he meant physicality rather than formation), although other comparative adjectives could also have been used, such as younger, taller, fitter, faster ..... better.  Against opposition who stuck eight past them in January other teams might have just folded at the prospect, but the current band of Highwaymen lack nothing in terms of heart, commitment and application. Undone by rather scrappy, avoidable, but well-taken efforts at the end of both halves after conceding the first on fifteen minutes, the home team kept K Sports at bay for long periods of the game, a full half-hour elapsing between the second and third goals.  Nevertheless, you sometimes learn more about the character of a squad when it has been staring up the proverbial barrel for a full 70 minutes, and in that sense at least the team emerged from defeat with integrity and honour intact, and even enhanced.

The attitude was epitomised by some wonderful veteran displays, the ageless Richard Cleall leading by example despite an early scare which needed copious amounts of the trainer's magic spray.  Ever the consummate hard-man in defence who eschews the namby-pamby concept of wearing shin-pads, he was unfortunately caught plumb LBW to a nasty yorker on five minutes as the ball rocketed into the D.  Once everybody had had a chance to admire the growing hard-boiled egg just below his naked knee, however, he decided to continue and turn in a masterful performance for the full 70 minutes.  Ditto man-of-the-match Andy Rose who battled brilliantly in the centre of midfield in another great reenactment of Rorke's Drift, and was even able to turn the tide for a spell in the second-half when the home team mounted some counter-attacks and managed some efforts on target from both Matt Robinson and himself.

In both territorial and possession terms, however, the Highwaymen spent all of the first 35 minutes under the cosh, defending admirably from front to back, from Pat Gainey up front to the ever-dependable Tom Conway between the sticks, from first to last.  On another day, with an absolutely first-choice starting XI and a bit of luck, who knows? ... maybe the home team would have run the opposition a bit closer, but K Sports looked every bit as good as they had been ten months earlier and should be worthy title contenders alongside BBHC.  But at least they knew they had been in a game, and the whole Highwaymen team deserves immense credit for representing the Club with pride and not letting their heads drop, despite the suffocating high press of the visitors which was often tough to escape.

So Stephen Gilbert's boys' unbeaten run in all competitions ends at 9 since they last lost exactly eight months ago on March 9.  Next up, however, is the long away trip to bottom team Folkestone who have managed to hit the opposition's backboard just once all season whilst currently boasting a goal difference of -39, but the Highwaymen should beware any complacency after last Saturday.  3 Hills Sports Park has never been an easy visit for the Highwaymen who always seem to bring out the best in the Folkestone Optimists on their own home (astro)turf.

Team:
Tom Conway (GK), Tim Walters, Richard Cleall, Ed Smyth, Andy Rose, Sammy Chana, Phil Bunker, Peter Dowse, Chris Bernard, Pat Gainey, Stephen Gilbert (C), Matt Robinson and Tony D'Cruz.

Man-of-the-match:
Andy Rose - he even sounded a bit like Michael Caine at the end, but set a wonderful example in the centre of the park in a rearguard action where the home team were beaten, but never bowed.

 Umpires:
Scott Dow and the visiting K Sports official did a grand job and spotted just about everything ... unfortunately!