COWHC Men's 3s vs Cheam Men's 4s - 10 October 2015

There's a certain Irish beverage company that has, I believe, used the tagline "Good Things Come To Those Who Wait."

This phrase applied in more ways than one to our victory over a Cheam side we have always struggled against, particularly away.

The first instance was when Julian and Chris turned up about 10 minutes late, a mix-up over timings meaning we both thought that pushback was 13.30. Still, the 9 COWs had managed to keep the 11 (plus subs) of Cheam at bay until our arrival.

The second example of biding one's time came shortly afterwards. Having been given our positions by new skipper Cleashy, I came on at centre back but quickly slipped out to left-back to allow John to pair up with Speddo in the middle. Moments later I somehow found myself on the edge of the D as the Cheam keeper cleared the ball.

With what was maybe my second touch of the game I controlled it and then drilled it back into the far corner of the net. It was probably the sweetest strike I've made in a while and led to my first goal in at least 2 if not 3 years! Apparently patience really is a virtue - let's see how long it is until the next one!

The rest of the half was pretty even, although I'd argue that with the ball we were playing the better hockey, Julian in particular had a lot of time and space on the right wing. Up front Ben and Dav were harrassing the Cheam defence, while James and Cleashy were fairly comfortable in midfield. We were occassionally caught out by a long ball, and Cheam's dangerous forward did manage a couple of shots, one or two of which called George into making saves.

At half time the call was for more of the same. That would have worked, had it not been for the fact Cheam reorganised themselves and began to put more pressure on us. It took a little while for us to regain our composure, and in fact the game did get a little bit niggly for a bit. But midway through the half we took the sting out of the match, or so we thought, with our second goal. A flowing move started from our 16 hit-out and involved Martin, James, Cleashy and Julian before the ball got to Dav. His first shot was blocked by the keeper, but after a bit of a tussle with it in the air, Dav managed to get the ball over the line.

Cheam then threw everything at us and did get a goal back. A quick break down the right meant our defence was pulled a bit out of position. Their dangerman again managed to get a shot away from the right side of the D, which was probably going in, but another play who had drifted in at the back post made sure of it.

That led to a fraught end of the match, particularly as Cheam won a couple of short corners, including one right at the end, with the full time whistle blown. Fortunately we were able to see them all out and held on for a very well deserved victory.

POM went to Chris