Crostyx Hockey Club

After the previous week’s inspired performance Crostyx continued to show improvement against stubborn opposition by claiming a second successive victory. The game was used as an opportunity to ‘blood’ some of the juniors and expose them to the men’s game and the juniors rewarded the faith in them by contributing to the good result and laying down some foundations for the club’s future. Crostyx finished in a credible sixth place and will now be playing in a plate competition which will provide further opportunities for the younger players to progress their hockey.

An enlarged squad of 20 players gathered in the gloomy conditions and the aim was to run the opposition ragged by constant rotation. Despite the difficulties of rotating such a large number of players this did not detract from the performance. The relentless running of the midfield and forwards brought forth two goals from James Buckingham, one from Joe Hall and another from Christian Hall.

The solid defence led by Paul Murphy at sweeper kept the opposition attacks in check with some timely interventions although East London’s perseverance did lead to a goal in the first half to keep the scores at 1-1 at half time.

By the second half, the constant pressing of Crostyx took its toll on East London as the defence was broken apart by crisp passing and decisive shooting whilst at the other end of the pitch East London’s attacks failed to yield a goal.

The opposition’s persistence led to some forays in to the D but these were ultimately negated by man of the match keeper Robin Wallich. Time and time again Wallach made some excellent saves at close range, blocking shots and thwarting any opposition attempts in a very crowded D. In fact the scoreline did not fully reflect the opposition’s attempts on goal and with each save made East London ungraciously took their growing frustration out on the umpire as the game ended 4-1 in Crostyx’s favour.

Despite the comfortable victory the aim of the evening was to provide the juniors with a taste of men’s hockey. The performances and enthusiasm of the juniors did not disappoint and the solid backbone of the senior players helped to smooth the transition to men’s hockey.

On Thursday 5th July, Crostyx again play East London 2s in their first plate game in what is hoped to be another game that can provide the youngsters with further experience.