The Mighty 4s freeze out local rivals Olton – just!

Sils 4 hosted local rivals Olton 6 at home in near freezing conditions. Olton fielded much the same side as in our first encounter but with the addition of the old Welsh warrior Martin Brough. He looked resplendent in his 1960’s style white shorts and dark prescription support hose. On the other hand Sils were missing three of their influential players, Steve Aylin, Andy Rush and Alex Willetts. Despite this Sils entered the fray with a very positive attitude and this is so important. Having a strong belief in the team can be the difference between success and failure. Even so this was going to be a tough match.

It turned out to be a very hard fought and competitive game with both sides fully committed from start to finish. The umpiring was excellent and the flow of play from both sides was relentless. This produced a tense but very enjoyable game which was played in a great spirit. It really was a credit to both sides and to the game of hockey.

The match was finely balanced and the result was literally on a knife edge right until the final whistle. Olton had more of the attacking play but they came up against a strong and resolute Sils defence.

Olton’s early attacks were concentrated mainly down the flanks and they looked very strong. However the Sils wide defenders had the confidence to channel the attackers out wide while still remaining goal side and giving the central defenders time to consolidate and protect the centre. This worked very well indeed and the Olton attackers struggled to break through the Sils defence.

Sils concentrated their early attacks down the right with John Harrison again successfully reaching the back line on many occasions. However he also came up against a very well organised Olton defence and crossing the ball into the D proved to be difficult. Their two main defenders, Mickey and Ian, both have a very good eye for the ball and together they form a very tight defensive unit. Not only did they stop almost everything in their path they also cleared the ball away very constructively. Mickey lacks pace and it is very tempting to try and take the ball past his ‘weaker’ left hand side. This is a mistake because in reality it’s his strong side and this invariably takes attackers by surprise.

During one of our attacks through the centre Keith Willetts collected the ball at the top of the D but found find himself surrounded by defenders. He immediately put the ball onto a foot for a short corner. John subsequently injected the ball with such pace and accuracy that Simon Russell was able to control the ball instantly and then fire it into the back of the net. I think a defender managed to get a stick on it but he was beaten by the sheer power of the shot.

Try as they might, Olton could not reply and at half time Sils were leading by one goal to nil. Would it be enough?

As the second half progressed Olton began to push higher up the pitch and apply more pressure. Ian Hill was able to supply his midfield from the back with some long, hard and accurate passes. Likewise Martin Brough played very constructively in midfield producing lots of short development passes interspersed with some fine long range penetrating passes to attackers in dangerous positions. A pleasure to watch.

As the game progressed more and more of their attacks went down the centre. They certainly looked dangerous but our defence coped extremely well. Shaun was imperious in the centre bringing the ball away time and time again. Not only is he a great player but his effective organisation of the team while play is in progress is entirely responsible for our current success. He was helped enormously by the sustained hard work, discipline and good positioning of the rest of the defence. Mick, Mike and Craig stuck doggedly to their tasks while Murray, Dave and Sam not only defended well but also provide a route out for those clearing from the back. Tony Dwyer covered a tremendous amount of ground up front and still managed to find the energy to cover back. Great stuff.

The shots that Olton did get on target were all well saved by Yogi. One shot in particular, midway through the second half, was pivotal to the game. Brough fired a screamer towards the goal and it looked unstoppable. Not only did Yogi save it but he also guided the rebound away from danger. It might not be in the coaching manual but Yogi had slugged down a whopping double brandy just before the game and it seemed to fortify his performance. He certainly pulled of some fine schnapp saves. I think we should bring a bottle to every game to keep his spirits up.

Scoring at this point in the game would have left Olton with enough time to press for a winner. Games can turn around at moments like this. As it was we still had the lead, they still needed to score and, importantly, we still kept our belief.

As they pressed high in search of a goal our midfield responded by dropping back to cover. In this respect Simon played really well. He defended strongly as well as initiating forward play at every opportunity.

As they pushed forward in search of a goal they became more open at the back. If ever there was a time for Andy Rush to be on the pitch…

With Olton pressing forward and our midfield defending there were occasions when our forwards became a little isolated. During these moments Willetts, despite making the odd duff pass, managed to hold the ball up well to give the deep players time to get forward. Also Dwyer and Willetts were now closing down their defensive hits much more effectively than before. It was noticeable just how many of them were now being fired directly out of play rather than to a player. The game ended with the score at one nil to Sils and a clean sheet for Yogi.

On balance Olton probably had more of the play than we did. They certainly had more shots on goal than us and they were good shots too. Playing as well as this they probably felt that they deserved at least a draw if not a win.

Despite having fewer shots we scored a very good goal with no element of luck involved. Also, despite producing good shots on target, they failed to score. Again this wasn’t through good luck on our part or bad luck on theirs it was because we defended well throughout the game.

Man of the match: Simon Russell
Stand out moment: Yogi’s Napoleonic save

Post Script
Obviously we are happy with the win and in the league winning seems to be everything. However, as stated at the beginning of this report, win or lose this game was most enjoyable. It was very competitive throughout and was played with urgency and commitment for the full seventy minutes. It was a credit to every player on the pitch.

Thoughts for the day from Boodha.
Yes I know I said wouldn’t but here we go…not one but two!

1. Crossing the ball from the back line can be very effective on the break or in situations when the defence is stretched. It has certainly produced a good number of goals for us. However when the D is very crowded it is often less effective because this route is usually heavily defended. Cutting it back to a space somewhere between the penalty spot and the top of the D could be a more effective alternative in such situations. There is usually more space there and it is easier for a forward to connect with the ball when it is coming towards him. It’s also a great place for someone to run on to.

2. Attacking short corners are becoming very important especially as we are now scoring from them. If a shot or pass isn’t on we should, as Shaun frequently states, put it straight on a foot. This is much easier than trying to manoeuvre the ball into a shooting position especially as a short corner is a shooting position. We could win so many more shorts if we got into the mind-set of following Shaun’s advice.

And finally
After the game one of their senior players reflected on the fact that as the game progressed they attacked much less from wide positions and instead focussed more and more on attacking down the centre. This was a mistake he said because who was waiting for us? Shaun Bates!