Men's 4s vs North Stafford 4

Telford 4ths travelled to Newcastle-under-Lyme to take on North Stafford 4s on the beach at Clayton Hall.

1. North Stafford are 3rd in the League so looked to be tough opposition. Chris in his pre-match talk wanted to see quick and fast passing. He also wanted the team, when not in possession, to employ the 3 Ds of delay, disrupt and deny - allow the opposition to pass around the back and then press.

North Stafford were made up predominantly of juniors, who proved to be quite skilful and quick.

They took the lead after 10 minutes when Alex conceded a penalty flick by sliding into the back of one of North Stafford's junior forwards and flattening him. Another junior stepped up to convert the flick high to Alex's right.

Telford weren't being given any favours by the umpires, who made some questionable decisions. 

North Stafford doubled their lead when they scored from a short corner. Another junior scored with another flick high to Alex's right.

Half-time came with no further goals.

It had not been a good start to the half for Telford. North Stafford had made the most of the speed of their juniors. Telford had wanted too much time on the ball and their passing had been slow and inaccurate.

Telford had done better in the 2nd part of the half. Chris stressed the need to continue to delay and deny. He also wanted Telford's passing to be fast, flat, and accurate.

Aaron pointed out that some team members needed to turn to face the opposition when they had the ball to help keep the move going forward and make overlaps possible.

John pointed out the need to get someone on the back post as a couple of scoring chances had been missed because nobody had got there.

Telford were much better in the 2nd half. They pulled a goal back after 10 minutes of the half when Thomas skilfully dribbled the ball into the left of the D and crossed it to Connor, who helped it on to John. John came in from the right and struck the ball firmly home, John's 5th goal of the season.

Telford strived for an equaliser, which eluded them. However, the defence held strong, with Alex making good saves when the defence was breached.

So, the game frustratingly ended as a 2-1 loss for Telford.

A much better performance in the 2nd half from Telford. Chris praised the team for their great structure, better passing and decision making. A much better performance overall and Chris was proud of all the team.

ST was voted Man of the Match.

This was Telford's 7th close match of the season. It's the 3rd game they've lost by just 1 goal and drawn 4.

The team are playing some very good hockey at times. They just need to maintain that level for the whole match, cutting out the sloppy play, and the close matches will turn into wins that will see them climb the table.