Won 4-2
Scorers: Laslett, Surridge, Atala, Hopkin
MoM: Everyone
DoD: none
With thanks to team sponsor M50
Canterbury o50s vs Stourport o50s (away) – won 4-2 Despite trepidation from manager Les re: the M25 shutdown, we all made it up to Stourport in plenty of time …. in fact, so much time that a 2 hour stopover on Oxford Services for sustenance was needed to avoid arriving exceptionally early (… and charge up all those electric cars!) A clear team talk from coach David Bunyan and a great warm up got us all fired up and ready to go! Unfortunately, we then proceeded to ignore all that and give the ball away and invite unnecessary pressure for the first 10 minutes. Luckily a combination of Trigger and poor finishing meant it was still goalless when we finally strung a few passes together and started to realise that Stourport’s high press left them very exposed to the pace of Hopkin and Thomas up front. After several chances, a pass to Thomas won us a corner on the break, and Canterbury’s slick PC routine seemingly malfunctioned only for Steve Laslett to smash it in from a narrowing angle. Stourport continued to press, and the defence of Ericson, Sharratt/Scott-Kilvert, Barton and Atala had to face a barrage of dribbling. However, Hopkin and Thomas were now causing havoc at the other end and another quick break from an aerial led to a PC which was finished expertly by Surridge with a “bobbler” just inside the post. A third break yet again resulted in another PC and a drag flick from Diego on the slip gave Canterbury an excellent 3-0 lead at half time. The team talk from Luton fan Bunyan emphasised that 3-0 did not mean we had won this. The 2nd half was a battle as Stourport restructured and overloaded the midfield of Ollie, Surridge, Forbes and Laslett/Goodie and scored from a turnover to make it 3-1. They continued to press and then won a penalty stroke … but Trigger out psyched Stourport’s David Knott to crucially keep it to 3-1. Canterbury then escaped the press and some excellent work down the right released Thomas along the bye line and he calmly found Hopkin unmarked at the far post for a tap in and some much needed breathing room. Stourport won numerous PCs and eventually converted one with a strong strike past Trigger to make it 4-2. The aerial ball from Atala and Barton continued to give us an outlet to Sharp, Thomas and Hopkin. After Hopkin was unlucky with a couple of 1 on 1s, Forbes then gave everyone the jitters by threading a perfect back pass between two of our defenders straight to their centre forward, but Trigger made 2 excellent stops from the initial shot and the follow up. Canterbury then hung on for the last few minutes with the whole 14 contributing valiantly through exhaustion, illnesses, and injuries. A great result which now puts us into the FINALS against old rivals Reading HC on 4th May 24 at Lee Valley. All support at the finals would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to Sir Bunny for making the long trip to coach us – much appreciated!
Squad: Trigger, Scott- Kilvert, Barton, Atala, Sharratt, Ericson, Surridge, Hollingworth, Forbes, Laslett, Goodenough, Sharp, Hopkin, Thomas, Coach: David Bunyan
