Drew 3 – 3
Scorers: D. Upton, R. Upton, O. Neal
MoM: Ben Lawford
With thanks to team sponsor MMil http://www.batchelorcoop.co.uk
Playing their penultimate fixture of the season on AW1 this week, the Batchelor-Coop Millers were one of the few matches to take place in the somewhat post-apocalyptic environs of Polo Farm.
With Captain Sharratt serving a one match stadium ban on the slopes of La Plagne (following an undisclosed incident at the recent Race Night fundraiser), his team adopted a progressive, socialist mentality to keep afloat in his absence.
Initially, this worked well, with Dave Upton continuing his late-bid for ‘highest goal-scorer’ (in the Millers at least) with a stunning opener five minutes in. His initial effort rebounded off the post but, with kamikaze commitment, his follow-up diving lunge put the rebound away and also seriously hurt his hand (when it too hit the post afterwards). 1-0.
Gore Court are not easily repressed though, and from a short corner breakdown they managed to win a penalty stroke after a foot on the line. 1-1. Despite continuing to press well, another Millers foot played a decisive role in the visitors second, unfortunately deflecting the ball to an unmarked forward who despatched with unerring efficiency from the top of the D. 1-2.
The second half saw a further setback, when the same forward broke, at considerable pace, to complete his hat-trick early in the half. 1-3. However, the home side are the very embodiment of their Captains tenacious resilience. Reef pulled one back, from a penalty corner, with 20minutes to go. 2-3. And with ten to go, Ollie Neal levelled the score with some sneaky, striker stuff at close range. 3-3. And thus it remained until the final whistle.
Thanks to Paino and Phil for umpiring. And, finally, with the Squires securing the league title, with a game to spare, an anonymous donor treated the team to a magnum of prosecco to celebrate. However, onlookers were unable to determine whether the size of the magnum (see photo) was just a trick of perspective or a further inevitable sign of shrinkflation…..?
Squad: Oly Triggs (GK), Nirpal Saraon, Bradley Post, Connor Grantham-Stevens, Chris Upton, Reef Upton, Ben Lawford, Simon Hurlow, James ‘The Hangover’ Hodson, Neil Barnes (C), Ollie Neal, Dave Upton.
