Men's 1st XI Vs Newark 2

A glorious mid march afternoon saw South welcome bottom of the league Newark 2’s to Bingham and after a short delay (see Mike for details...) their full contingent were warmed up and ready to go. A team talk from skipper Gaz B instructed the team to respect the opposition and make sure the team keeps it’s shape and doesn’t get greedy, prioritising good hockey over a hatful of goals. A clean sheet was also demanded.

The game started with South flying out of the blocks looking for an early advantage and the first goal didn’t take long to arrive. A short corner broke down but Tom managed to work himself some space and after his first shot was charged down by the keeper, he emphatically volleyed the rebound in. Another short corner minutes later this time worked to perfection and saw Gaz B sweep in from close range.

Newark occasionally threatened on the break as South poured forward and managed a scrappy goal back past South keeper Sam to make it 2-1. From there on though it was all one way traffic. After a reverse stick shot from Mike was blocked off the line, Ben managed to shield the ball from an oncoming defender and slot the ball into a corner before Tom later found himself free in the D and drilled a shot in for his second. Following a rare Newark attack, a lightning break from Nathan saw a ball played into Tom high for a reverse sweep to wrong foot the keeper and make it 5-1 at the half, completing a halftime hattrick in the process.

While disappointed not to keep a clean sheet, South were dominating and Newark hadn’t had many clear chances. Wanting more width in the second half, South restarted the game looking to the wings. A one-two between Gaz B and Mike wide paid off instantly as a trademark Gaz bullet into the corner saw the score made 6-1. 2 more goals followed before Ben scored the worst drag flick of his career, the rolling ball deceiving the 4 defenders and GK and finding the bottom corner. Straight from the training ground that one! The one sided game was wrapped up with 2 goals from Nathan, the latter following classic Brainz dribbling in midfield.

The back 4 of Tom, Jim, Jon and Harry, with Craig rolling on, coped well with South piling forward and the gaps this left but it was pointed out that a better team would’ve taken advantage and while the 11 goals were satisfying, there was no doubt the team needed to be more disciplined with their play.

Results elsewhere from Mansfield and West Bridgford saw South end the day in 3rd place and they will travel to Chesterfield next week for their final game of the season, looking to wrap 3rd up and finish a very strong season on a high.

MoM- Tom
DoD- Mike

Match report by Mike