COWHC Men's 1s vs Romsey Men's 1s - 15th October 2016

Benjy, Oli M, Ivan, Drury, Nicky, Dom, Jono, Henners, Shaan, Mark, Feebs, Belly
An early start and a long journey was a big test for the mighty CROWs and this was clear from the start of the game. In front of a sell-out crowd and on a simply horrible pitch the pressure was on to perform. Our frustration started to show early and we rushed a number of attacks; gifting the home team with possession.
In true gentlemanly spirit we allowed the oppo to break quickly on a number of occasions. They were a moderately skilled team but were strong on the counter and attacked with pace. Our defending was a little flat footed and allowed these attacks entry into the CROWS inner sanctum. Our thanks at this stage to our stand-in Keeper Jono Long. Jono flapped around the D like a rabid dolphin ensuring that the opposition were kept at bay (and duly earned himself Man of the Match for his pains). However it wasn’t long before Jono’s (usual) unsullied sheet started to get splattered with viscous Hampshire filth. They scored two goals in the first half; one of note was an up and under style attack which managed to bamboozle the deflated CROWS and slide past the Jono’s left flipper.
Up the other end we had the odd dalliance. We long-shore drifted the ball up the pitch hoping to “thumb” the ball into the goal. Injections of pace from Dom, Nicky and Mark and injections of skill from Feebs, Belly and Benjy saw us start to gain ground. Despite our short corner routine being brought down (by a sand castle that was in the way of the injection) Dom managed to bury a strike in the rigging. The whistle was blown on the first half and at 2:1 down we retired to seek shade, water and inspiration.
The second half saw us come out of the traps like diphallactic dogs; humping the opposition until they coughed up possession time and time again. A heroic effort from the mighty C.R.O.W.S saw the lowly opposition resorting to every foul in their agricultural armoury. Despite this a chance break from the Romsey team saw the crows dozing. Smart use of the back stick from the Romsey attacker caught everyone on the back foot (apart from Jono who was standing on one leg). The score was now 3:1 with a huge challenge to build a comeback.
A true display of the ever-strengthening heart of the mens squad; we were relentless in attack and calm in our build-up play. Dom managed to ping one off the keepers helmet but due to years of careful inbreeding no damage was done. We couldn’t seem to find the back of the net and time was running short.
Notable passages of play up the right between Shaan and Nicky, calm interplay between Henners and Drury and blistering pace from Olly M frightened the life out of the fading Romsey. No longer relying on the ‘thumb in’ technique to splint our flaccid attacks our display now looked positively tumescent. This degree of force always had to lead to penetration. This responsibility fell on the broad shoulders of Belly and Feebs who both scored excellent goals to draw the scores level. A further ten minutes would surely have sealed the victory for the resurgent CROWs.
This week saw the return of shower beers and my wrongful choice of using a three foot high shower. This, as well as a slipping over at Romsey Train station on the way to the game, earned me the honour of Dick of the Day and a chance to wear Drury’s gimp mask. Dick of the day was an extremely close call with CKS and Cheeseman in joint second place.
All in all a good day out at the seaside and another point on the board.