Mens 5 vs Teddington M6

Evening chaps

Another overly long recap from me I’m afraid 🤪 after another hugely dominating performance this weekend. Very pleased to get a strong squad out, and we really made the most of it. Started brightly, killed the game off with a really good spell in the first quarter of an hour, and played some lovely relaxed hockey for most of the rest of the game. 

We’re still sitting in fourth, but the top three, who are all undefeated, will have to play each other soon, so someone will have to drop points. I imagine they will be looking over their shoulders as we head in to the half term break. 

For us, four clean sheets in five games, and a goal difference of +20 means we lead the league in those statistics. Not a bad place to be in with a quarter of the season now gone. 

Player performances:

Spike: didn’t have a whole lot to do (especially for the first hour), but I’m really pleased we managed to keep that clean sheet. There were a couple of melées in the last few minutes where we were able to close their forwards down quickly, but that was about it. 

Dave F: really efficient game from Dave keeping things really tidy, looking comfortable all game, and I thought his short, intermediate and long range passing was absolute quality at times. No coincidence we haven’t conceded in the games he’s played. 

Rob: carved out a freer role this week, allowing us as a team to push up more and press higher. Performance included the usual ball winning and physical battle winning that we’ve come to expect, but the Pringlemeister enjoyed a couple of productive little sojourns up the field too.

Maj: I wrote to the league concerning rule 17a subsection 6 to see if I was able to praise Maj again this week, and they said while they take a very dim view, I would be allowed one more occasion. And actually his control, movement and last-ditch tackling (especially that one at the end) were of a very high standard. 

Duncan: thought Duncan slotted in really well, and some of the 16s which went through him made me realise what a simple game hockey can be when you play it right. Covered loads of ground and was the key to us dominating that RH side of the pitch. 

Tom: thought Tom excelled at doing those sometimes underrated things in midfield. Getting a stick in and jabbing, closing off passing lanes, and generally providing the pivot between defence and attack. Thought he patrolled that half way line superbly and was the main reason they hardly got in our half. 

Clarky: class game as you’d expect from Clarky. Plenty of movement, dictating play around the edge of their D, and spreading the ball really nicely. Their defensive midfield just couldn’t cope with his ability to win back and keep possession in their half. Had a couple of shouts for MoM. 

Matthew: strong game especially cutting in to inside-half positions. Looked determined in the tackle and skilful in space. Supported the front two really well and played classical, sensible hockey all game.

James: super game from the lad the hockey press are calling “Mr Versatility”. Always full of ideas, he provided us with creativity when out wide, demonstrating both the physical and finesse sides to his game, and then put in a classy shift at CB as a ball-playing defender. Deservedly got some MoM votes. 

Jack: you think it’d be hard for a man of 7feet 8ins to ghost in at the far post and score, but Jack managed to do it - twice! Loved his positioning, pulling defenders all over the place, and once he gets that first touch sorted imagine what a player he’ll be! 😜

David: played at a really high level all game as you would anticipate, and I lost count of the number of times he broke down Teddington passes as they looked to push out from deep. Put a proper shift in doing grunt work as well as showing some serious skills around the D. 

Lee: just an absolute CF masterclass. Apart from scoring a hattrick and probably getting another hattrick of assists, Lee gave the Teddy defence fits all game. Dropping short or hitting the p-spot they simply didn’t have an answer, and I guess the Teddy defenders will have had some serious Lee-shaped nightmares last night. A very well deserved runner up MoM, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Matt: Concrete Matt Luddington simply played _the_ complete game. Showed a great engine getting up and down the right, put through some filthy through balls, went shoulder to shoulder with their nutter at LB (and won!), and after all that went and got himself a hattrick. Not a bad debut, and a *very worthy winner of this week’s MoM*.

So well done everyone. I’ve got to say I don’t mind being a bit of a spectator when we’re playing like that. Really lovely to watch. Plus the sun shone (eventually), the tea was good, and we went home with three excellent points and a seriously improved goal difference. Makes me happy. 

Enjoy the break, 

Spike