Won 3-0
Scorers: Stuart Keir x2 and Aaron Hudson
MoM: Will Gardiner
DoD: Aaron Hudson
With thanks to team sponsor MPil http://www.ideaworks.co.uk
The Pilgrims arrived to the cabin on Saturday afternoon buoyant by the presence of the returning Charlie Lloyd-Hughes after his soirée in the twos the previous week. This was further boosted by having first team captain Tom DiGiovanni running our bench, and Matt Carney seemingly there as he had nothing better to do.
The game started positively with the Pilgrims enjoying plenty of possession and putting good phases of play together. We also looked comfortable out of possession and our noisy neighbours as of late didn’t seem threatening at all. Canterbury’s assertiveness was cemented when Stewart Kier rolled back the years and confidently slotted home a well placed flick from a penalty corner.
Not 10 minutes later was the goal of the game scored by Aaron Hudson, who found himself in the right place at the right time slamming home a reverse stick shot through the Holcombe goalkeepers legs. The combined age of both goalscorers being 83 goes to show you win nothing with kids.
How wrong could that quote be. Despite the goalscoring prowess of the aging midfielders, the outstanding performance of the game came from 15-year-old Will Gardiner. Will thwarted every possible Holcombe attack, and had each and every opposition attacker in his pocket. The young lad mopped up with aplomb and continued to calmly distribute with the head of an experience defender way beyond his years.
The second half saw more Canterbury assertiveness and another well converted penalty corner routine by Stewart Kier. Stuart had the opportunity to round off his day with a third, but decided he’d rather a Dutch warm down at the bar.
In the battle of the third teams, the Pilgrims assured that Kent remains Green and White.