WHC Mens 3s vs EUHC 5s

The men in maroon could be forgiven for a sense of deja vu as they warmed up on a sunny Saturday afternoon. EHMHC were clearly unsatisfied with their performance in the previous week and had dropped a number of their 4s into the 5s for this match. However, even armies as great as the Roman empire or the Uruk'hai have had to call on the occasional soldier of fortune and so too the 3s had taken advantage of a rest week for the 2s to enlist a little help.

The game started tense, with the WHC dominance of EU's traditional sideline distribution proving invaluable. WHC were worrying the defensive line but failed to find any openings, while the back line soaked up the on-rushing kids when they broke out. Despite some end-to-end pay the half time score sat at 0-0.

The green shirts eventually found a gap in the back early in the second half as an EU press through the centre of midfield found slotted a pass through the gap between the left and centre backs to an awaiting forward who succesfully slotted home in the bottom left corner. Finally awoken from it's slumber the forward line realised that if they wanted anything from this game they would need to find the backboard.

WHC 3s have been struggling with their short corner conversion rates, and this game was no different. Fortunately, they were winning enough of them that when a first strike hit the keeper's pads and spun loose Daw was their to clean up the mess and deliver the ball over the line. 1-1.

EUMHC were still coming though and winning short corners when they did. Their routines were familiar to the lads, having faced more polished versions of them only a week earlier. Perhaps recalling the opening goal from the 4s game, EUMHC slipped left for a shot to the right corner. Gray, still smarting from being beaten at the post the previous week, was on his toes though a cleared the well aimed attempt.

The boys sensed victory was within their grasp, stepping up the pressure on the now wobbling EUMHC defence. A well worked movement through the centre and distributed to the left found recent inductee Adam Hall carrying the ball along the base. Daw, proving that good manners are an essential part of any WHC team, was heard to shout "I'll have the ball across the face of the goal please". Hall duly delivered and Daw calmly tapped it in for his second. 2-1

The game wrapped uneventfully from that point, with the men in maroon glad to take their 3 points.

MoM: Tony Allan
DoD: Rich Gray

Thanks to Stuart Purves for umpiring.