Lost 1 – 3
Scorers: Oliver Neal
MoM: Martin Long-Castro
With thanks to team sponsor MMil http://www.batchelorcoop.co.uk
With a comparatively sizeable away squad this week (numbers not shirt sizes), the Batchelor-Coop Millers set-off for Old Willy’s. Starting with three keepers on the pitch may have been seen, by some, as an overly defensive move by skipper Sharratt. However, as anyone who has ever lift-shared with him will attest to, his approach is more ‘fast and furious’ than ‘parking the bus’ and thus, the team were relieved to see only one of them kitted up in goal, and the other two out on-pitch.
The Millers put the home side on the back-foot from the start, forcing them to continually make errors and having the better of the possession and opportunities. Teddy Ridings and Martin Long-Castro were both influential, making intelligent runs and completely ‘saucing-up’ (or, ‘rinsing’, for the older demographic) the opposition. Despite the pressure, the score remained nil-nil at the break.
The second half saw a positive start, with Olly Neal having a ‘hare and tortoise’ moment with a young defender. The latter, severely misjudged the formers fitness and stamina and was surprised to find the ball whipped away from his shepherding run, as he hoped to watch it run out of play near the corner flag. Most of the Millers had also turned away, expecting a similar outcome, but were pleasantly surprised, as they turned to set-up and defend the expected 16yard hit, to find a rather nice shot going in between the keeper’s legs to give the visitors a deserved lead.
Unfortunately, the home side switched their formation in response, starting to overload midfield, and it was a scrappy goal, with lots of bodies in the D, that pulled them back level. Pushing forward with renewed vigour, they won and converted a short corner to take the lead. Then, with only minutes remaining and the Millers continuing to push for an equaliser, Willy’s won and converted another short corner to seal the points. A frustrating result in the end but lots of positives to be taken from this match against a team sitting second in the league.
The Millers band-wagon rolls-up to Polo Farm this coming Saturday, where they headline the fixtures schedule with an 11am push-back against Tunbridge Wells on the show pitch! With the wider press now drawing comparisons between the England cricket team and the Millers (we stop short of stating: favourable comparison), why not turn up and support their exciting brand of hockey, which is quickly becoming dubbed the ‘Shazball’ style.