Majestic Morris Stars in Farewell Game

During the week, the sad news that goalkeeper extraordinaire Rob Morris is moving to the Lake Distract at the end of the season had reached the Men's 1st Team. And with Morris not being able to play the last game of the season, it meant that this home game would he his last for SNHC.

Before the game, his ex-housemate Brett Nunn said prior to pushback "the club won't be the same without him. He's been a great servant for Saints both on and off the pitch. We'll miss him dreadfully in goal and even more in the pub after the game. Today's game is more than just about winning, it's about playing for our mate to send him off well!".

If St. Neots wanted to get off to a good start for Morris, they didn't appear to show it. Saints returned to old ways of early season and couldn't keep the ball or string together more than a few poor passes. Horncastle looked to capitalise on this and had several good chances of scoring, but were denied by Morris - who from the start was in fine form. Then, Horncastle broke through the Saints defence and had a 2 on 1 with Morris. Morris came charging out and made an unbelievable initial save; despite being wrong footed Morris dived across and picked off the bobbling ball from the attacker's stick. Then, like a kangaroo, Morris sprung up and completed the double save as the second attacker struck the ball towards the top corner. Saints somehow stayed level and thanks to Morris, could breathe a sigh of relief.

Saints, despite early poor play, began to build some momentum and eventually scored thanks to Dan Sutton sweeping home after Garth Mooney had beat several defenders in the 'D' with excellent skill. Sutton then doubled Saints lead after the ball scratched some paint off his stick from an Iain Moor pass en route to goal. Horncastle protested that the ball hadn't touched an attacker's stick in the 'D', but the umpire correctly identified the minimal touch from Sutton was enough to award the goal.

Horncastle started the second half like a steam train and tried to bulldoze Saints into conceding. A quick break led to a well taken goal by the Horncastle forward and the travelling side appeared to be back in the game. They continued to pile on the pressure and would've been level and then taken the lead if it hadn't been for on-fire Morris making save after save.

St. Neots eventually got their act together and pulled away beyond being caught. Mooney scored from a perfectly executed penalty corner routine and Joe Derby scored twice to seal the deal late in the game. By the end, Saints could've scored 8 or 9 had it not being for Horncastle's keeper also having a blinder.

Although Garth Mooney received recognition for his stellar performance, and on another day could've been awarded Man of the Match, there was only one winner of the award from this game. In his last home game for the club, Rob Morris pulled out one last magic performance and deservedly won Man of the Match. Injured ex-prem A player and current St. Neots forward Darren Coles commented on the departing keeper "I think it's fair to say that was the best performance by a keeper I've ever seen. He's a phenomenal keeper and an even better bloke".

Rob Morris will be sorely missed by the club, but we wish him well at Keswick HC and all of his future endeavors.