BDHC 1s v Bury St Edmunds

Bourne Deeping 1s v Bury St Edmunds

Bury St Edmunds’ picturesque ‘Walled Garden’ pitch was the setting for this Division 1 clash as the Dragons went in search of their first points of the season. They were arguably the better side for the opening quarter as they forced BSE onto the back foot with their high tempo passing and aggressive running. Alex Hutton was finding joy down the right hand side, and with Ryan Matthews pulling the strings just behind the front two, the Dragons were unlucky not to take the lead.
Charlie Riddington, a late call up to the 1s following the loss of a player to Covid isolation (a forebearer of things to come with government announcements later that day!) took his chance back in the side with some impressive tackling and intelligent dribbling, ripping through the BSE midfield on several occasions but unable to find that killer pass at the end of it. Likewise Sam Evison, another powerful display in the centre of midfield alongside Andrew Kind and Scott Downie.
But as BSE fought their way back into the game, it was Adrian Portlock making the saves that would lead to another man of the match performance from the veteran shot stopper.
He was left with no chance for the opener, a missed tackle in the D allowing a BSE forward to slap the ball home from just a couple of yards out, nor the 2nd, an uncharacteristic mistake from usually the safest of safe hands in centre midfield fluffing a pass and giving the ball straight to the BSE centre forward just outside the D for him to dart in and score.
A 2-0 halftime deficit was in no way insurmountable, and as usual the next goal would be crucial in deciding the final outcome. Portlock was again in the firing line and coming up with the saves to deny BSE, one diving stick save in particular worthy of any league.
Scott Downie saw green for expressing his opinion too loudly, and though Bourne Deeping saw out the short handed period without conceding, the game’s 3rd goal, when it did come, went Bury’s way courtesy of a penalty flick after a goal bound shot from a penalty corner was blocked by a defender’s foot on the line (the 4th penalty stroke the Dragons have conceded already this season!)
A yellow card for an Andrew Kind horror tackle soon afterwards, then allowed BSE to exert more pressure on a beleaguered back line, and with tired bodies making tired decisions, a 4th goal in the dying moments put the gloss on a solid win for BSE.
Positives for Bourne Deeping will undoubtedly be the work rate and high tempo which kept them in the game, and with time over lockdown to work on their fitness levels, they aim to hit the ground running when the league resumes.
Man of the match -Adrian Portlock.