Colts vs Grange M8s

Colts vs Grange M8s

With the torrential rain on last Saturday’s 4.30pm push back, my memories of this game have also been slightly washed away. The Colts turn out with an almost full squad, Swanny crying off late on, having to be involved in a birthday party rescue.

The remaining Colts players would also be missing the Tandon brothers, as well as Calum (always ‘Man of the Match’) Wood, who had lost out in the squad rotation for this week. The remaining players took to the field for a quick warm-up and the umpires deciding quite quickly, that we should get this game underway. Colts took the push back and the rain began to fall.

The conditions were harsh, but the Colts started to play the ball around in their usual commanding way. Fraser Heigh was the focal point of the Colts attack, marshaling his forwards, spraying passes around and running at defenders. The first Colts goal would come from a quick sideways pass from Fraser to Waugh, who then fired the ball to the back post for Ollie Deane to poke home.

The Colts would continue to pile on the pressure. Soon after the first goal, the Colts defence started a move by breaking up the right flank, playing the ball into the midfield who continued working the ball left and into the back post for Ollie to get his second of the day and Waugh his second assist.

Grange did not want to lose sight of the game so early on and started to mount some attacking of their own. A long ball down the field eluded the Colts midfield and gave the Grange striker a shot at goal, which he put into the corner.

The next goal would again be to the home side. Another longer ball down the park gave the Grange player a 1-on-1 with Sam Gibb. Gibb made the initial save, but the ball managed to squirm through. With Gibby making a last ditch swipe and clearing the ball from the line, it was too close for anyone to call, but the decision went to Grange. 2-2 and half time.

With the quickest of team talks, we changed our formation and dropped a fourth defender back into the line. It ment more work for the midfield, but with the monsoon conditions the extra body heat produced would be welcome.

Andrew Mortimer had be tirelessly working on the Grange left back in the first half and as the game grew on, Mortimer started to get the better of the opposite man. It might have been the 45 year age gap, but Andy was making penetration after penetration into the D, giving the Colts both shooting opportunities as well as penalty corners.

Mortimer broke into the circle again and fired the ball across the face of goal. Heigh would have found it harder to miss the tap in than score, but he did just that, swiping at air, narrowly avoiding impaling himself onto his own stick, to then connect on the revers and slide the ball into the corner. 3-2.

There would be one more goal in the game. To the Colts! A penalty corner would finish off the game. Injection from Will, stop by Ross and a very nice drag flick by Fraser, thus redeeming himself.

The game finished 4-2 to the good, with soaking kit, tired bodies and team sheet that no one would ever be able to decipher.

A well deserved ‘Man of the Match’ for Andrew Mortimer.