All square as Dave stops short in circle!

Sils 4 played host to local rivals Olton 6 in a friendly as both clubs were without a league fixture. Sils are currently lying fourth in the table but have games in hand over some of the other teams. Olton are in sixth place and also have games in hand. It felt odd to be playing a friendly against a rival team in the same league but both teams were grateful for the opportunity to play. Sils had won the earlier league game 4-2 but it was by no means an easy victory.

As the teams lined up it was obvious that both sides were missing a few key players. It was difficult to prejudge the effect that this would have on the game and although it was ‘just a friendly’ there was a lot at stake. The winning side would gain an important psychological advantage over their opponents to carry forward to the next league fixture.

Rather disappointingly the first XI failed to provide an umpire which left Jim Goldstraw with the unenviable prospect of umpiring alone. Fortunately Mike Bettridge, who had turned up to watch the mighty 4s, volunteered to umpire despite still nursing a leg injury.

One addition to the Sils side was the return of Alex Willetts who hadn’t played for over a year. Would the return of the prodigal make a difference?

Sils opened strongly, attacking down both flanks with energetic play from both Simon Russell and Alex Willetts. Matt Lyons combined well with both down the right flank and Brandon Munemo pressed hard down the left. Things looked very promising. Despite all the pressure we were unable to create any clear cut chances and on quite a few occasions we allowed ourselves to get trapped deep in the right hand corner. We had a few difficult half-chances but we were unable to score from them.

They defended well. What their two backs lacked in mobility was more than compensated for by their skill and experience. They were always well positioned to defend incoming crosses and their midfield players were very quick to get back inside the D to deny us any space and time to control the ball. (There were several occasions when they mustered eight outfield players in and around the D). With so many defenders crowded inside the D we should have played for short corners. This is a tactic that we have discussed so many times before but with the sense that we were about to score we continued to strive for a direct strike on goal. It did not materialise. Would this prove to be a costly error?

As they weathered the storm Olton gained confidence and began to attack with more vigour. They passed the ball around with increasing confidence and composure and were beginning to get the better of the play. What was going wrong?

We were making too many unforced errors, especially by giving the ball away with poor passing. In particular a lack of pace and accuracy on the short passes enabled Olton to regain possession through frequent interceptions. At times we were also slow to release the ball. There were a number of instances when our players carried the ball to a position already occupied by another of our players. Not only would a direct pass get the ball to the same spot more quickly it would also avoid the pitfall of running into trouble and getting caught in possession. The well-used and often shouted slogans, ‘make the ball do the work’ and ‘give and go’ come to mind.

We also seemed to have more difficulty than usual with balls taken from the side-line. It was noticeable that we tried to force the ball forward on almost every occasion. Olton noticed this too and made every effort to block the forward pass. Looking to use the square ball and the back pass as alternatives would not only provide additional options for bringing the ball into play but it would also make it harder for them to close the options down.

These remarks are not intended to be critical of individuals but are intended to highlight a few areas where we can make immediate improvements that are well within the abilities that we already possess. It’s worth noting that concentrating on improving one or two things at a time is far more effective than trying to do too much at once. Watching a single raindrop works but if you try to look at them all you just get wet. One of our strengths is that we play for each other and stick together as a team while accepting our own individual strengths and weaknesses. The brilliant banter in the bar is testament to the high quality of our team spirit.

Despite the balance of play turning in Olton’s favour our defence was playing well and looked to have the situation under control. Yogi had things covered and Mick, Sam and Craig looked solid especially with Shaun sweeping in front of them. Olton’s forwards didn’t look like scoring but then, just over half way through the first half, they had a lucky break. Yogi had saved a shot well but the rebound from his pads dropped right on the end of an Olton forward’s stick and he simply knocked it into the back of the net. Anywhere else and he would not have scored. They continued to play well and at the half time break they were leading by one goal to nil - very disappointing.

The second half opened with the visitors continuing to play well but there was absolutely no question of the Sils giving up and everyone continued to work hard. Gradually we began to gain the upper hand. Dave, Matt and Murray asserted more control in the middle and Shaun pressed higher to support the attack. Matt, Brandon, Simon and Alex were soon combining well again and Sils began playing some good flowing hockey.

Penetrating the Olton defence was still proving problematic especially with Olton’s Ian Hill sweeping in front of their back two. He made short possession passes to get out of trouble and also smacked some excellent through balls to his forwards. In future games we need to keep the ball away from him.
Despite Olton’s good defensive play our pressure was beginning to tell and a goal looked likely. It came about twenty minutes into the half when Alex Willetts smashed a ball between two defenders to hit the backboard with a satisfying bang.

With time ebbing away we continued to press for the winning goal. We also did what we didn’t do in the first half and that is play for short corners. The first couple went well and looked very promising. The main reason for this was the fast pace of the ball from the injection. (re: ‘thought for the day’ last week). This gave Simon that tiny bit more time to get the shot away. With the umpire having signalled two minutes remaining we were awarded another short corner. This was going to be our last chance to score. The ball fizzed in from the drag flick and Simon nudged it into the D and creamed it towards the goal. The keeper was definitely beaten - a goal for sure… then ‘Dave the Save’ appeared from out of nowhere and stopped the shot. We were left with nothing but a trail of spent kryptonite.

So there we have it: the prodigal son returns to salvage a point and it finishes all square as Dave stops short in the circle.

Post Script

Many thanks to Mike and Jim for their excellent umpiring. I would just like to point out to Jim that at our level stick tackling is regarded as an essential higher order skill that should be applauded rather than penalised and stick obstruction is a complete mystery to most of the team.

In the bar afterwards it was obvious that they were happy with what they felt was a fair result. Their assessment was that they shaded the first half and we shaded the second half. For our part there was a feeling that we could have done better. Perhaps if we had played for short corners in the first fifteen minutes we might have scored an early goal to create a different story. As it turned out this was a much needed improvement over last week’s performance. It also showed that we had the strength of character as a team to keep playing right to the very last minute, a quality which helped us to avoid defeat and bring us within a whisker of victory.

Man of the match: Simon Russell