BDHC 1s (9) v Pboro 4s (4)

A bizarre game reflected by the accompanying weather.
A hailstorm during the warmup saw the hardy souls of BDHC strip down to their shirts while the CoP players cowered in the dug outs.... On reflection perhaps they had the right idea as phrases such as "caught cold" or "defenders frozen to the spot" soon sprang to mind. The Dragons started brightly as the clouds briefly parted, attacking straight from the push back and creating a chance within the first minute. However as the storm clouds duly gathered, CoP duly spanked the ball down the other end and scored! There are many adjectives to describe this style of play: "No frills", "direct", "route one"... But make no mistake, this was no hit and hope job, with the wiley old foxes of Lakey and BDHC old boy Ollie Browne at the back, this was targeted, accurate, and as the Dragons back board was rattled for the 2nd time in as many minutes (helped a tad by Joe Garner slipping on the hail covered turf as he went to clear a rebound) you have to say very, very effective.
So, 2-0 down, under the pump as they say, and being thwarted in midfield by another ex-Dragon, Bobby Slack, reprising his role as general midfield terrier / pain in the arse for the opposition. Who do you turn to? You turn to the man who will scrap and fight, and then bounce one in off his backside or his face if he needs to, BDHC's very own Doug Glatt, Alex 'Bobbler' Hutton. Up popped the bobble dazzler himself to plop one in off a defenders foot and suddenly the Dragons were back in the game!
By now the weather had turned again, glorious sunshine illuminating some wonderful attacking play as BDHC youngsters set about Peterborough with renewed energy. Ben Brittain showed remarkable composure in the D to set up Joseph Moisey who finished superbly to level things up. A 2nd from Moisey soon followed, and when Hugo Brill was hacked in the D, a flick was awarded which Moisey confidently dispatched to complete a first half hat trick and a remarkable turnaround.
Ominously the half time chat was accompanied by gathering dark clouds, once more a portent of doom for the home side? It certainly seemed the hockey gods were toying with the Dragons, as another distinctly torpid start to the half (are Dragons cold blooded?) saw a brilliant CoP counter attack slice through the midfield and defence in a lightening strike of one touch passing with a fine close in finish from Hales.
With missed traps and deflections suddenly causing chaos in the ranks, Ady Portlock made a great save, then a second great save from the rebound which unfortunately managed to rap Brewer on both knees as he attempted to cover the goal, before dropping just over the line.
Four all, a point will do, just dig in and stop the rot.... Or smash in a few goals and take three points? Again the sun came out and BDHC warmed to their task once more. Ben Brittain chose the latter option as he bagged a brace, sandwiching a superb James Watkins tip in from a short corner. From 4-4 to 7-4 in the blink of an eye. Hugo Brill saw a drag flick sail into the top corner before being bizarrely disallowed, with still time for midfield marauder Andy Kind to grab his 3rd of the season before Joseph Moisey rounded things off with his 4th of the game to take the man of the match award.
An entertaining game with goals and talking points galore, and we haven't even mentioned Hugo getting a green card for losing his sh** and tomahawking the ball away about 3 seconds after the whistle before sprinting to the bench to have a go at smashing up the dug out... Though Ben was remarkably zen... Maybe someone on the sideline was a calming influence??