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Sat 21 Oct 2023 ·  East Men's Division 2 North West
St Ives 2
Men's 1st XI
3
2
BDHC1 (2) v St Ives2 (3)
Graham Brewer22 Oct 2023 - 12:18
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"not another one!"
BDHC1 (2) v St Ives2 (3)
Perhaps once a season you might find yourself on the wrong end of a last second winner. The despair of watching the ball hit the net with the final whistle already blown. The frustration of not being able to hit back. Those games can be hard to shake off. So to have that happen twice in the last three games (the other being another late one goal defeat though at least not one scored after the whistle!) tells you a little about where the men's 1s find themselves after a good initial start to their campaign with hard fought 1 goal wins of their own including a late winner against Long Sutton.
The game itself saw some decent hockey played. Both teams played fast counter attacking hockey which made for end to end action with both teams guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous areas. Indeed had the finishing being more composed this could easily have been 3-3 rather than 0-0 going into halftime.
Early in the second half Ewan Howitt finally managed to get his feet out of the way and showed great composure one on one with the keeper to open the scoring for the Dragons but St Ives struck back with a bizarre equaliser, the ball ricocheting off sticks and cross bar to drop invitingly on the line for an easy tap in.
Thursdays short corner practice session paid quick dividends with a well worked James Watkins goal to restore the away sides lead. St Ives responded quickly, poor marking allowing a man free to sweep the ball home as both sides looked to be heading for a draw. But with just seconds to go, having just seen off a 2 minute green card for dissent, an aerial ball into the D appeared to have been dealt with by goalkeeper Portlock, only for the umpire to adjudge the keeper had encroached upon the receiver and a penalty corner was awarded. With the final whistle blown the corner was dispatched, leaving a disconsolate Dragons side staring at a 4th successive defeat. They say sport builds character, or maybe it just reveals it. Either way the Dragons will be champing at the bit to show theirs when the season resumes in a fortnight.
Perhaps once a season you might find yourself on the wrong end of a last second winner. The despair of watching the ball hit the net with the final whistle already blown. The frustration of not being able to hit back. Those games can be hard to shake off. So to have that happen twice in the last three games (the other being another late one goal defeat though at least not one scored after the whistle!) tells you a little about where the men's 1s find themselves after a good initial start to their campaign with hard fought 1 goal wins of their own including a late winner against Long Sutton.
The game itself saw some decent hockey played. Both teams played fast counter attacking hockey which made for end to end action with both teams guilty of giving the ball away in dangerous areas. Indeed had the finishing being more composed this could easily have been 3-3 rather than 0-0 going into halftime.
Early in the second half Ewan Howitt finally managed to get his feet out of the way and showed great composure one on one with the keeper to open the scoring for the Dragons but St Ives struck back with a bizarre equaliser, the ball ricocheting off sticks and cross bar to drop invitingly on the line for an easy tap in.
Thursdays short corner practice session paid quick dividends with a well worked James Watkins goal to restore the away sides lead. St Ives responded quickly, poor marking allowing a man free to sweep the ball home as both sides looked to be heading for a draw. But with just seconds to go, having just seen off a 2 minute green card for dissent, an aerial ball into the D appeared to have been dealt with by goalkeeper Portlock, only for the umpire to adjudge the keeper had encroached upon the receiver and a penalty corner was awarded. With the final whistle blown the corner was dispatched, leaving a disconsolate Dragons side staring at a 4th successive defeat. They say sport builds character, or maybe it just reveals it. Either way the Dragons will be champing at the bit to show theirs when the season resumes in a fortnight.
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