Saffron Walden HC Men 1 Vs Bourne Deeping HC Men's 1st XI

Winning the toss the Bourne Deeping skipper opted to take the push back and allow his team the early possession. It did not take long the before the home side who were probably more used to the conditions of the pitch than the visitors to start mounting some attacks into the Dragons' D. After missing the previous week’s game, the Bourne Deeping keeper was back in the pipes and was able to deal with the early efforts on goal. Some fine defending from Andy Briault and centre back partner Phil Arnold also managed to keep the SWHC men at bay. At the midpoint of the half, a Saffron attacker was afforded some space in the D and was allowed to drift onto his reverse and have a pop a goal. The Bourne keeper should really of dealt with the shot but a horrible error of judgement allowed the ball into his goal. SWHC 1 - 0 BDHC. Not letting the goal get the best of them the visiting side continued to play some decent hockey and managed to string a series of attacks together. Smart work by lone striker Nick Glover was awarded by penalty corners but the dragons were unable to convert. A Saffron Walden penalty corner added to their tally to take the halftime score to 2-0.

HT: Saffron Walden HC 2 - 0 Bourne Deeping HC

After the halftime talk the dragons were hoping the second half would be like previous encounters and be able to get on top of the game. Unfortunately the home side had other ideas and were launching an offensive on the visitors goal. The first effort of the game was met with a manly yelp from the Dragon's keeper as a well struck shot was saved by his forearm, missing any padding. Not having any time to reflect on the stinging more attacks from the home side ensued. They were awarded with their third goal when a short corner was saved by Page diving to his bottom right but was unable to keep out the un-cleared rebound. 3-0. Soon afterwards Saffron Walden were allowed another opportunity at goal, after a player drove down the right hand side and down the by-line had a shot at goal. The Bourne Deeping keeper made the initial save but the ball came off his glove and looped over his head. trying his best to keep the ball from crossing the line the Dragon keeper could only be disheartened when the ball finally nestled just over the line. 4-0. Still working hard the visiting side still kept trying to claw their way back into the game with Pete Jeffery having some joy down the left flank. Again though for the Dragons' short corner after short corner came and went without the score line being affected. A breakaway from Saffron Walden down the right gave them their fifth goal of the afternoon as a well taken effort was smashed into the far bottom corner. 5-0. Not giving up, Ben Slack managed to pull a goal back for the vising side with his 10th of the season so far. This wouldn’t be enough though as the final whistle blew

FT: Saffron Walden HC 5 – 1 Bourne Deeping HC

The silver wand for man of the match went to Nick Glover this week for his industrious effort alone up front.

Needless to say the wand of the week was Goalkeeper James Page for having legs that don’t close and being useless at juggling.

Next weekend the Dragons entertain Ipswich East Suffolk at the Arthur Mellows pitch, a game in which the Dragons will be seeking vengeance for what happened earlier in the season and a game that they must win. Push back 12:30