11 man Bourne Deeping unlucky in loss

Availability issues saw Bourne Deeping travel south to St Albans with just eleven men on Saturday. Despite this numerical disadvantage, a valiant display saw them come within fifteen minutes of a point.
Alas, competing for seventy minutes against a squad of 15 proved too tall an order and the home side pulled away in the dying minutes with goals scored on the counter attack.
The game started ponderously, largely due to the late arrival of an umpire who had clearly not wanted to miss the second half of England’s emphatic World Cup victory over the All Blacks. St Albans took the lead but lacked any real cutting edge and were clearly vulnerable themselves at the back.
This vulnerability showed itself on numerous occasions, not least when Rafa Parker-Humby kept his composure to level the scores ten minutes before half-time.
Sadly, despite their obvious flaws, St Albans managed to claw their way back into the lead shortly after the break. Then came the decisive moment in the match - with Parker-Humby clean through on goal, the home goalkeeper clearly held the Dragon’s stick and prevented him from scoring. Inexplicably, no penalty stroke was awarded and Bob Slack struck the resulting loose ball agonisingly wide of the gaping goal.
Two breakaway goals sealed Bourne Deeping’s fate and the scoreline very much flattered St Albans. The eleven men who travelled should be proud of their efforts and should take encouragement from the game as St Albans are very much beatable in the return fixture.