Men's 4th XI Vs Boots Dev Team

Match report:

On a very wet and windy visit to Lady Bay, the SNHC 4’s met with Boots in what would be a very close encounter, despite still very much being a developing team. 

It was a slow start for South, as Boots pulled into the lead early with some smart play and a clever finish, which was was quickly followed up with another goal from a short corner after an initially sublime save from Tommy. 

Not deterred despite the score line, South rallied and created chances in the first half after fantastic dribbling from Toby and brilliant wide play from Tom B, unfortunately we couldn’t tuck one away in spite of creating some excellent openings, with Ken and I not applying the finishing touch when in the D. Boots grabbed another and the half finished 3-0.

After some tweaks to the positioning and words of encouragement from skipper Tony at half time, the second half saw Owain move to left back, where he would excel throughout the game, and the ever dangerous James moved up front. South produced excellent hockey as the juniors stepped up and showed character and skill. Adam B closed down well, Tom C showed excellent positioning in the centre and the attack of Toby and Tom showed a growing chemistry which bodes well for future games. 

As the heavens opened, the chances came thick and fast for South. After some great play on the right, James played the ball centre and I flicked into onto the outside of the post from a tight angle; the right would continue to be a good avenue of attack, as Ken forced an outstanding save from their goalie at close range. The pressure continued and openings were created by an industrious midfield, but unfortunately the finishing touch never quite came. 

Adam H, Knappet and Tony kept Boots quiet in our third and the distribution into midfield was better after the movement picked up following Tony and Ken’s instructions. Boots will surely come away from this wondering how they kept a clean sheet. 

A fantastic effort by all and unlucky not to win the second half, this team has shown it won’t be long before the results will match the performances. Josh