Men's 2s
Matches
Sat 09 Mar 2019  ·  Middx, Berks, Bucks & Oxon - Division 1
Henley Hockey Club
Men's 2s
J Forrester (50')
1
3
Newbury & Thatcham 2
Men's 2s suffer first defeat since November

Men's 2s suffer first defeat since November

Richard Woolfrey12 Mar 2019 - 11:15
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Men's 2s suffer first defeat since November

Henley Mens 2’s 1 v Newbury and Thatcham 2s 3

With the season turning the corner for the final stretch, the MBBO 1 continues to remain alive. With 4 games left It is still a 3-horse race battling it out for the 2 promotional spots. Henley took to the pitch knowing that 4 wins from the final 4 games would secure the spot they had been working so hard to achieve all season.
With availability scarce across the club this week, the 2’s knew they would have a battle on their hands. Newbury and Thatcham had already beaten Henley when the two-side met earlier in the season and they always provide a tough game.
The game started poorly for Henley unfortunately. The first 3 passes made by Henley failed to find team mates and we quickly and repeatedly turned possession over. This set the tone for the first half and although Henley demonstrated fight it was hard to gain momentum and a structure that would allow them to pull together the attacks they had seen in recent weeks. The Skipper (Dan H), when reflecting on the first half at half time summed it up perfectly by saying that we showed the right level of energy in the game, it was just channelled in the wrong ways. We had too much emotional energy and not enough physical energy.
After about 20 mins into the game the deadlock was broken. Newbury turned the ball over inside Henley 23 and shipped the ball to the back of Henley’s D. A small amount of scrappy play took place before Newbury poked the ball into the goal. Not one for the Match of the Day highlights reel. Their second came 5 mins later in much the same fashion. Dave ‘the wall’ Bowyer managed to save a very close range shot and clear his lines only for the ball to fall to the stick of a Newbury player. The second shot was saved by Dave’s helmet. Henley were not able to get the ball out of the D and Newbury had an easy tap in to take the lead to 2-0.

Half time came at a good moment for Henley as momentum was building for Newbury. Henley started the second half with a different approach and started to build a solid base and structure to their play. The 3rd goal of the game came curtesy of a short corner from Henley. Some smart interchange play between Ralphie and Joel gave Joel the space to lift the ball into the Newbury goal. For the next 15 mins both Henley and Newbury matched each other’s play. Henley had some good chances to level the match, one in particular came from an amazing piece of individual skill from JHB. In his trademark fashion he dribbled across the top of the oppositions D, beating 4 defenders before winding up to slot the ball in the top right-hand corner. Unfortunately, the resulting air shot left the ball where it was and JHB on the floor. No goal, no glory. Notable contributions came from Dave who made some solid saves, Ali who had another great game at the back with some awesome aerial distribution. H put in a gut busting performance on the right, hunting anything down that came within his zone and beating countless Newbury players when on the ball. Both Joel and Ralphie had a solid game in the middle of the park and were always looking to unlock Henley’s top line. Pricey also worked hard down the left side and although not his normal position did a great job, especially in defence.
The game was sealed however with 10 minutes to play. Newbury had secured a short corner as the ball hit a Henley defenders’ foot. Instead of blowing immediately the umpire continued play but just as Newbury were about to tap the ball in the back of the net the whistle was blown. Newbury converted the penalty and secured the 3 points.
Henley battled well and despite the result are not out of the promotion race. 3 wins from 3 will secure that second place finish.

Match details

Match date

Sat 09 Mar 2019

Kickoff

13:30

Meet time

12:30

Location

Competition

Middx, Berks, Bucks & Oxon - Division 1

League position

3
Henley 2
5
Newbury & Thatcham 2
Team overview
Further reading