7 Oct 2007 - Bude A v PGSOB "B" - 1-2
Another trip to Devon, another trip down south and across the Tamar toll bridge. Another £1 paid to the taxing authorities. Andy left early so that he and his car-load could see England beat the Aussies, and draw some inspiration for the hockey due to start at about the same time as the rugby finished. Dave was umpiring the ladies 1st team, and despite his knowledge of the area he claims to have forgotten where Stonehouse Barracks is located. The captain, having only been to Stonehouse twice in the last season, relies too much on TomTom to get around so we had to wait for the ladies to finish so that we could go in convoy. Adi’s car gave up the ghost on Friday, so he was hanging around in Stratton; Ross managed to find time to do the week’s shopping in the Launceston (or is it Lanson?) Tesco while waiting for his lift to arrive.
Despite encouragement from the passengers, TomTom could not be persuaded to get to Stonehouse before 15.08 (do all the slow drivers get let out on a Saturday afternoon?). A fine sunny day to play hockey on a reasonable pitch awaited the intrepid tourists, and 12 good men and true warmed up to take on the high-flying PGSOB "B" team.
The game started well for both sides, with the ball going from end to end without either keeper really being troubled. Then almost against the run of play, Ross nipped in on the end of a free hit and produced a beautifully judged stick angle to deflect the ball into the net. One up to Bude, and we awaited the onslaught from PGs. It came from a number of angles, but the defence stood firm. Everyone contributed, Woody’s running out at short corners had them rattled, Pete’s blasting clearances kept the ball out, Calum kept his legs together, Andy and Simon made sure that the ball was stopped somehow, and the midfield ran in attack and defence. Adi was unfortunately a bit alone up front, but even so we managed to continue to press for the second goal. It was not to come, and the second quarter of the game was defensive rather than attacking. Rowan had to leave the pitch towards the end of the first half, but surely you expect to be hit with the stick on the body and then elbowed in the eye? Almost at the end the pressure told, when yet another short corner hit Simon’s foot; the umpire played advantage, which resulted in the ball finally hitting the backboard for the PGs equaliser.
Half time beckoned, and Dave’s positive comments made it clear that the game was for the taking, and we had the skills to beat the opposition. Taking this to heart, we followed our belief in our ability and attacked the PG’s end. Dave, Alistair, Ross, Matt and Rowan battled for the ball. This exposed the midfield a bit, but the defence stood firm, despite more short corners being conceded. Our defensive expertise seemed to fluster the short corner injector, who managed to fluff several of his shots, making it easy to clear the ball.
Unfortunately it seemed as though we were never going to get the decisive second goal; we had shots on the keeper, opportunities to pass and shoot; Matt suddenly found himself alone in the D with only the keeper to beat but managed to become psyched out of scoring. Try as we would the ball did not hit the net or the backboard. Well, that is not quite true – we did hit the net from one of out 2 three short corners in the game but the shot was high and also hit the pads of the keeper. The resulting long corner decision was rather strange to all concerned.
In the end the inevitable happened, we conceded a second goal 4 minutes from time. Defending an attack from the defending left side, Simon was bundled off the ball in a tackle that would have given some pleasure to the England rugby team earlier in the afternoon. The umpire claimed not to have seen this unusual method of tackling a player without the ball, with the result that after some desperate defending the ball ended up in the goal.
4 minutes of all out attack failed to grab an equaliser, so we adjourned to the Artillery Pub across the road for chilli, rice and pasta, of which there is always more than we can eat.
Next week we are home again, this time against the Marjon’s student side. But we will have our own ageless forward back in the team, hopefully fully fit after a holiday in the sun, so that the forward duo of Adi and Steve will be on song again. Well played all of you.