Men's 2nd Team Vs Ludlow 2nds

Second team Match report

06/11/21

Ludlow 2s  6 v 1 CoBHC men’s 2s

Goalscorer:  Sean Brookes

Our furthest distance for a game of hockey this season. A 90 mile round trip caused a few logistical problems for our club with cars sparce this week. Luckily Rob, Paul and Edan offered to get the squad to the venue, (with part fuel subsidy from management committee).

 Unfortunately, a massive error by the captain confused matters somewhat as our eleventh player was set to arrive from Wolverhampton but had actually messaged his unavoidable cancellation two days prior to the game but, Paul the 2nd’s Captain had failed to read the message.

Starting with ten men the away team produced a solid defensive formation. Starting with Jack in goal making continuous save after save throughout the game. Edan and Paul the two full backs worked hard to protect the keeper alongside Ian who was our “man of the match” in the central defender roll. He got the last-minute tackles that counted throughout the first half.

The midfield of Abbasi, Jahed, Rob and Anthony worked with a defensive mind-set, but were always ready to get a counter attack away whenever the chance materialised. A special mention for Rob who dusted the cobwebs off his kit after three years away to play his first game in the new CoBHC set up. He unsettled the home team’s midfield for the full 70 minutes, with clever off the ball movement and savvy passes around the pitch.  Up front Sean and Ishmaeel tried to find space for through balls and to put pressure on the home team.

The home team at the back were vulnerable every time our midfield drove forward with slick passing or dribbling skills. So much so that the away team got the first goal. Sean with precision, slotted low into the corner from a well worked move in midfield. The first half was pretty even with both teams winning short corners and getting chances in the “D”. Jack in goal had the more saves to make and eventually they equalised from an extraordinary narrow angle squeezing between keeper and post, hitting the side board from a shot on the baseline. Going into half time all square at 1-1, the away team decided to defend deeper, with only ten men legs will eventually get tired!

Unfortunately, this was a tactical nightmare as straight from the off the home team managed to drive through midfield with little effort, straight at the flat back four. For a solid ten minutes the away team had to defend attacks from every angle. This pressure eventually told and the same player who scored from a narrow angle did it again, giving them the lead for the first time in the game. Injuries in the away team meant a little reshuffling was needed to keep the game alive. This did lead to some chances from a few short corners and good open play passing and attacks in the “D”. Anthony thought he had scored with a high flick shot from a pass by Rob, but the keeper did a diving save to clear his lines. Then a little confusion in midfield, combined with tired legs gave the home team three quick goals to take the game away from CoBHC. To the credit of every player, they gave 100% effort and never gave up on the task but in the final minutes the home team got their 6th and all 3 points. The Second team had many challenges in this game but importantly, they managed to fulfil the fixture ( not many teams have 100% record for this in the division!) and City of Birmingham could possibly have got something from the game if injuries and fatigue hadn’t got the better of them.