COWHC Mens' 1s vs Surbiton Mens' 3s - 29th October 2016

I have conducted a little research on Surbiton and according to Wikipedia the town "is famous for Surbiton Hockey Club, which was established in 1874, and is regarded as one of the best hockey clubs in the country”. Clearly the CROWS (not mentioned on the Croydon entry on Wikipedia) were in for a real battle and were going to need to turn up from the opening blow of the chumpire flute.
We arrived in good time with a look of steely determination on the respective eyes of the murder of crows. Having suffered our first defeat last week our challenge was to get back onto winning form. This focus was somewhat broken by the appearance of Henners, wearing a baseball cap, clearly borrowed from a young “acquaintance” (current whereabouts unknown).
We started the first half with an effervescence potent enough to stun the Surbiton squad. Work rate was high, our press shaped well and short passes up the pitch carved holes. It wasn’t long before our relentless pressure started to pay off. Our first short corner of the game was awarded and we all looked around in bewilderment at who might step up to the plate to replace the savage 'drag lobs’ of the absent Dom and Feebs. Despite Jonty’s protests our resident warrior Cheeseman planted himself at top D; his hands wringing the neck of his stick like it was a Black Mamba, his calves bulging like the trunks of two Baobab trees. A perfect injection from the ever precise Benj, stoped cleanly by the now hatless Henners was driven into the backboard by the well-founded Cheeseman.
This was fairly unusual territory for the CROWS as our tendency is to allow any opposition a gentlemanly head start before capturing the game. However today was clearly going to be different. We scored another three times during the first half; Nicky Rao with a saintly strike, CKS with a shot from an impossible angle and another which was maybe the slowest trickle of a goal that any hockey pitch has ever seen. The goals were fantastic but what really stood them apart was the build-up play. Tim provided a display of his depth of fitness covering the some serious territory and both disrupting their attacks and being omnipresent in attack. Belly and Benj in the middle were excited to be playing on a pitch which supported their full range of skills and schooled both the young and old of Surbiton. Olly played out of his skin with keen running and acute skills. CKS, Nicky, Mark and Chris kept options alive with their running lines; putting our training into practice. On receipt of the ball they were all keen to give short passes (obviously with the exception of CKS).
Surbiton had the odd break but these were dispatched with aryan efficiency. Henners and Drury ever present with a step and the towering Smudge disposing of the young Surbs with a shrug of his angular hips. Against the run of play and with seconds to go of the first half, I managed to pick out a cross field pass to their centre forward creating a 3 on 1 in the D. Goal scored and whistle blown we closed the half 4:1.
Some smart changes from the Surbiton side distributed their better players up the pitch and gave them more bite in attack. This gave a run of momentum that saw the scores drawn at 4:4 with fifteen minutes to go; It was evident that this was going to be a thriller. A lesser side than the CROWS would have given in to the inevitable laws of sport and capitulated. The CROWs, however, are made of sterner stuff. The game became stretched and frantic. Some excellent saves from Chaundy backed up by the ever-present Henners, Smudge and Drury keep the resurgent Surbiton at bay. At the other end of the pitch we ran drills in the bottom corner as Chris wanted to work on his reverse stick trap. All of this practice stood him in good stead to score just seconds later with his reverse stick from inches; snooker cuing the ball at the back left post. With moments to go and back on top the CROWS could have taken the game to 6:4; however we had already broken the heads and hearts of the now flailing Surbiton so Shaun made the respectful decision to not pull the trigger.
Final whistle blown on a nail-biter of a game; body broken but CROWs elated as we step back up the table.
Thanks to Jono for his vocal acrobatics on the side line.
I picked up Dick of the Day for a disastrous day in defence; again earning the privilege of writing this report and wearing the DOD mask once more.
Belly was awarded MOM for his calmness on the ball, precision in passing and an improvement of post-match attire.
Some great learnings to take to Southampton at home next week.