COWHC Men's 3s vs Woking Men's 6s - 3 October 2015

Finally it's here, the start of a new season! Those long, boring summer days are starting to give way to shorter, colder, darker ones, which means it's time to dust of the hockey stick and get back onto the astro.

We had a very strong line up for the first game back, including two debutants in Ross and George, one of whom saw significantly more of the ball than the other...

Right from the start it became clear that Woking couldn't cope with us. Hoops, Adam and James formed the spine of a side that controlled the play so much that full backs Chris and Ciaran could push on almost at will. This meant we spent the majority of the first half well inside the Woking half.

Unfortunately a recurring theme of seasons past was still present in an inability to finish off the numerous chances created. Crosses frequently found a Woking rather than a COW stick, or if a shot came in it either lacked power or was too close to the Woking keeper. We won a number of short corners, which likewise couldn't be converted.

At half time the message was principally to keep going and the goals would come. In the end only one did as Dav broke through the middle, slipped a ball into the D which found its way to James who tucked it into the back of the net.

We continued to push forward in search of the goal that would kill the game off, and very nearly paid for it as a Woking clearance found its way through some gaps in our high press to one of their attackers. He played it into the D where fortunately George was alert enough to rush from his line and clear the ball off to the side with probably his only touch of the game!

We reasserted our pressure in a more sensible form after this, keeping our shape better but still unable to convert.

Still, a win is a win, and it's an especially good way to start the season.