Won 4-1
Scorers: Brown-Lea x2, Fouhy, Harmer
MoM: Brown-Lea & Rea
DoD: Richford
With thanks to team sponsor M1 http://www.canterburyhockeyclub.co.uk/patrons
A solid start to the away fixture at Old Cranleighans, coached by former old boy David ‘Pies’ Matthews saw the current first team congregating for a coffee 3 hours before push back due to the m25 closure which seemed to put the great British public off using the great motorway.
A big game ahead with survival on the line – Will Upton also attended for his debut at a meagre 15 years of age. If he has the longevity or Richford or Boyne, they will be 56 by the time he reaches their fine age.
A fast start from OCs was well blocked and smothered by the defence. A quick think Craig Boyne sent the airial all the way to Callum who couldn’t stop anything at training on Thursday – he managed when it mattered, and followed it up with a delightful chip over the goalkeeper. 1-0 CHC.
More pressure from OCs saw CHC defend numerous corners, the only one which didn’t leave the D was scrambled in over the goal – the umpires struggled to see in the glorious sunshine and the goal stood. 1-1.
Nathan the ever green Kiwi posted up strong, turned and rolled the ball in, a celebration which showed the defender ‘don’t mess – I’ll smash your face in’ saw CHC take the lead as the half time whistle went. 2-1 CHC.
The third quarter showed some high quality resilient defending, corner after corner, wave after wave of attack. Thankfully the defenders followed coach Brogdons mantra ‘stay low in the D’, no goals conceded and a break away counter attack saw a short corner which Canterbury’s Callum BL score with a sliding flick past the post man. 3-1 CHC.
The final goal was a beauty, Rhys ‘whitgift’ Harmer collected a lovely outlet pass, took on a defender, beat him, took him on again, beat him again and eventually round the ball over the goalkeeper and slammed it home, much to the dismay of some particularly eggy Old Cranlaighan players. 4-1 CHC.
The final whistle went, Broggy won a coffee mug but more importantly the boys won all 3 points and maintain their status in the Division 1 South. One more game to go, Sunday 24th March 2PM, Polo Farm – thanks to all for all your support this year, it goes a long, long way and as a team we are incredible appreciative. We will continue to work as hard as we can, on and off the field to do you all proud and we look forward to seeing you on Sunday, at the club supper and again next season.