Lost 1-4
Scorers: Ben Young 25’
MoM: Tom Degiovanni
DoD: Dom Curtiss
With thanks to team sponsor M1 http://www.canterburyhockeyclub.co.uk/patrons
Sunday morning saw the lads in high spirits after their 3–2 away win at Surbiton the week before. Despite missing key midfielders Louis Duprez and Harrison Smith, the team looked to carry that momentum into another three points. After a productive team meeting and a motivational video edited by Broggy, the squad hit the pitch ready to go.
The match started slowly, perhaps due to a shorter warm-up, with few early chances for either side. As the quarter ended, Teddington exploited a gap in Canterbury’s deep zone to win a penalty corner. After some strong running, a loose ball in the D found its way into the net to make it 0–1.
Teddington came out firing in the second quarter. A crash ball into the D resulted in a forward tucking it past Patching-Scott at the near post for 0–2. Three minutes later, another penalty corner led to a 2nd phase near-post deflection and a 0–3 lead. But Canterbury doesn’t go down without a fight! Captain Tom Degiovanni drove through midfield on the counter, releasing Tom Richford, who won a penalty corner. Ben Young stepped up and powered one through the keeper’s legs to make it 3–1.
Carrying that momentum into the second half, Canterbury pressed hard and earned a series of penalty corners early on, but couldn’t convert. The final one was run down, leading to a Teddington counter and their fourth goal, halting Canterbury’s momentum at 4–1. Tempers flared soon after as green cards were shown to both sides, but neither could capitalise with 10 men, and the quarter ended unchanged.
The final quarter turned into a back-and-forth battle of counterattacks. A tired Teddington side saw one player sent off with a yellow for a rough tackle, giving Canterbury a man advantage. Despite the pressure, they couldn’t find another goal, and the game ended in a 4–1 defeat.
Special mention goes to Captain Tom Degiovanni, who set the tone for the team through tireless effort and leadership, earning an almost unanimous Man of the Match.
Squad: Tom Degiovanni
Callum Brown-Lea
Mack Crawford
Dom Curtiss
Will Gardiner
Charlie Griffiths
Rhys Jones
Harry Ledger
Rory Mayes
Harrison Patching-Scott
Tom Richford
Stanley Stamper
Will Upton
Ben Young
Josh Kitson