Men's 3rd XI Vs West Bridgford 10th XI

South Nottingham 3’s vs west Bridgford 10’s 10/11/2018

Two teams with a mix of maturity and youth lined up for a game played in good spirit. South had the better of the midfield with Mark R and Mike S in control. The pressure paid off early on as the youngsters showed energy and enterprise to put on pressure in the WB D; Mark made no mistake when he picked up a loose ball and put it past the keeper to open the scoring.

WB had a number of attacks when their youth ran at the South defence and had some good passing moves; however, Batty in the heart of the defence was usually well-placed to thwart these. Dan, in goal had little to do and Batty’s colleagues in defence, James D, James F and Graham were confident in his ability so they frequently ventured up the pitch.

Henry on the left and Arthur on the right made a number of forays up the field and linked up well with Rhys and Finn to create dangerous situations in the WB D. Graham, totally out of position, was fortunate to capitalise on this when he lifted a loose ball into the net past an out of position goalie.

The silver fox, Ken, came on and had a few opportunities which he did not capitalise upon. Sam also came on and was very energetic and it took two or three defenders to stop him on occasions.

Batty took on the whistle, making way for Tony in the 2nd half. Arthur went to right back, where he was very effective, with James D moving forward. James F and Tony took on the role of solid central defenders, although both pressed forward on occasions. Elliot came on as an attacking midfielder, twice putting the ball wide of the post, supposedly expecting someone to make them look like passes – ‘I wanted one of the youngsters to score’ was his explanation.

Rhys, Finn and Henry continued to be dangerous in attack, showing skills to go past opponents and passing the ball well to each other to create chances. It fell to Mike to scoop a ball into the net from a tight angle following good work from the youngsters.

There was a consolation goal for WB whose youngsters also played well. A good game with talent for the future on both sides. The 3-1 result was pleasing but hockey was the real winner.

Many thanks to Tony for organising and leading the 3rds and the Umpires!