Southwick Mens 1sts
Matches
Sat 30 Aug 2014
Worthing Mens 1sts
2
2
Southwick Hockey Club
Southwick Mens 1sts
M Goatcher (5'), J Kifford (65')
Good Pre Season Run out

Good Pre Season Run out

Saul Mumford30 Aug 2014 - 15:22
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2-2 with higher league opposition!

The 1sts had the (now) traditional curtain raiser for our clubs season and met Worthing 1sts who are a league above them. For anyone who played in our August games this last couple of years this was no where near as hot as those encounters however the muggy hot weather did contribute to some tired legs in the Southwick ranks

We fielded a near full strength team and took the lead early on when Michael Goatcher turned home from close range after a surprise pass from the Australia bound James Kifford. We will certainly miss him on the pitch this season as he looked our most dangerous player going forward. That is not to take anything away from the defence and halves who played well to see out the 1st half without too many scares. We had dropped a little deep but were trying to play the right way moving the ball swiftly around the backs before moving forward.

Half time saw some words of wisdom from umpire/coach Dave Tanner however we looked a little slow in the 2nd half and found ourselves mainly playing on the top of our own D an equaliser looked likely but it was disappointing how it arrived, a mis-hit sixteen from Grant going straight to their forward whose pass found another onrushing Worthing player to slide it pass Joe Davis. Buoyed by the goal Worthing added another with a swift passing move through us and smart shot at the top of the D into the corner of Joe's net.

Our response however was excellent with Kiff making an immediate run towards the D from the push off and we spent the last 10 minutes well on top, Matt Gilbert nearly scoring from the top of the D and Mike Goatcher shooting just wide from a short as we began to push hard for an equaliser. When it did come it was from a usual source in James Kifford however the assist from 2nds Keeper Matt Scrase making a cameo up front was a little surprising as he used his body to hold the ball up with 2 Worthing players on him and pull it back to Kiff for an easy tap in. We nearly won it in the final minute after good work from Brandon and Luke down the left released Kiff again who was fouled in the D. The resulting short saw Kiff drag flicking just over from Macca's push out and that was the final action of the game. A good performance and result that bodes well for our promotion hopes this season!

Match details

Match date

Sat 30 Aug 2014

Kickoff

11:00

Meet time

01:00

Attendance

15
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