The Mighty 4s played Old Halesonians 5s at King Edward VI School and scored 7 in an 8 goal thriller!

Sils began strongly and pressed high right from the start. Within five minutes Andrew Rush had opened the score with a fine drag flick into the net. Sils continued to apply pressure in the opposition circle and another goal soon followed in the shape of a great reverse stick shot high into the net from Alex Willetts. At this stage of the game Sils were definitely on top. A flick high across the goal mouth (either John or Alex) looked destined for the top left hand corner but it went just inches wide. John was soon in the wars as a result of his characteristically robust play. With both hands and both knees bleeding profusely he had to visit the bench for treatment. Nurse Pat patched him up and it wasn’t long before he re-joined the fray looking like an extra from Holby.

The Sils forwards were proving a real handful for the Hales defenders. Andy was fouled on his way into the D but managed to keep control of the ball. The umpire indicated advantage and Andy continued forward and went to play the ball around the keeper towards an open goal. Sensing the danger the keeper went for a last ditch tackle which brought Andy crashing to the ground and prevented him from scoring a certain goal. The umpire had no hesitation in signalling a penalty stroke. Seeing the signal John Harrison rushed towards the D. He suggested Andy take the flick while striding straight to the spot without waiting for a reply. Confidence is everything when taking flicks and from that moment on I just knew John was going to score. He did, neatly flicking the ball just inside the left hand post.

By now Old Hales were beginning to find some form and began constructing some useful attacks. At this point in time the Sils defence contained their forwards without too much trouble but Old Hales were definitely coming back into the game. Two forwards in particular were using their skill and pace to play some good hockey and their defenders were also holding a much better line. It must have come as bit of a blow when just before half time Alex fired another reverse stick shot high into the net.

Recognising the resurgence in Old Hales play Sils came out for the second half determined to keep up the pressure and went straight on the attack. Hales defended well but with the Sils forwards constantly closing in on the defender with the ball they began to make mistakes. Eventually the keeper failed to clear a ball effectively. Alex intercepted it and scored with a clean strike to complete his hat-trick.

At five-nil down one might have expected Old Hales to lose heart but the opposite happened. They began to play really well. One of their forwards struck a number of good reverse stick shots. Fortunately they went wide because had they been on target at least one would surely have found the net. They continued to mount several good attacks and the Sils defence were subjected to periods of sustained pressure. Fortunately our men at the back formed a tight, disciplined unit that proved to be extremely effective and robust. With Mick Lane, Michael Bettridge and Tony Dwyer across the back and David Higgins and Shaun Bates just in front the Sils present a formidable barrier against any attack. Hales did break through on occasions but Arun Jogi had the channels covered and made several good saves. Not only that, he also cleared everything with confident kicks out wide. Great keeping Yogi. Eventually Hales were rewarded with a rather scrappy goal which did not reflect the high quality of their hockey.

By now the play was much more evenly balanced and the game continued at a frenetic pace. All the players on both sides were working very hard with some covering huge amounts of ground. Simon Russell was as strong as ever in the centre with great tackling, great control and great passing. The pace of the game was relentless. Did I hear Shaun gently urging us on or was it just a sigh on the breeze?

Murray Creed produced some lovely passages of play while still finding time to continue with his head banging antics. This week it was the opponent that needed treatment to a bloody head wound. What will next week bring?

Tony Dwyer played very well and put in a real shift at the back. He obviously enjoyed playing in a deeper role although this almost took on a whole new meaning. A rather tall opponent of large proportions tried to neutralise the Whippet by backing into him. Rather unwisely Tony, being of somewhat diminutive proportions in comparison, decided to resist and countered by putting his head down and pushing hard into the darkness with all his might. It didn’t take much imagination to appreciate the potential hazard. He was in real danger of disappearing right up into the abyss leaving nothing behind apart from an opponent with severe irritable bowel syndrome. Disaster was averted only by the strength of modern polyester shorts. Without these we would have been down to ten men. A substitution would not have been allowed because, though invisible to the naked eye, Tony would have still been on the pitch!

It came as something of a relief when John scored from a super strike that flew across the front of the goal keeper and hit the inside of the far left post. This was followed by another great goal from Andy. He drew the keeper off his line and then deftly pushed the ball between his legs for our seventh goal.

In the Dying moments Keith Willetts stuck a firm reverse stick shot past the goal keeper only to see the ball cleared off the line by a defender.

Man of the Match. Alex Willetts

This was a much more competitive and hard fought game than the score line suggests. Old Hales will be disappointed to have lost by such a large margin after playing so well but they came across a Sils side in great form.