COWHC Men's 3s vs Leatherhead Men's 2s - 14th January 2016

Last Christmas, only a few weeks ago, we were top of the table. However we still went into this match with a touch of trepidation given Christmas excess and a month off meant our heady mix of young guns and bad boys were feeling more than a touch rusty.

It was an early-ish start, although at least my wife didn't have to ask "wake me up before you go, go". The majority of the squad converged at the clubhouse prior to heading down to Leatherhead. Dav is clearly in need of a father figure though, given he turned up with his trousers on back-to-front (he's his mother's pride you know)!

The pitch was not exactly Club Tropicana, when we arrived the ladies who were on prior to us were playing a friendly game on a shortened and narrowed pitch, while others were clearing snow and ice off certain areas. Had this been a different corner of the country, Croydon High for example, the game would have been off, putting a real downer on the day. But those with shovels and brooms had faith, and sure enough the match went ahead.

The first half wasn't exactly the edge of heaven to watch, given the cold wind, rain and slippery conditions meant playing at full speed was tough, while those on the sideline were praying for time on the pitch to warm up. The opening minutes were quite even, but we slowly started to put our mark on the match and scored twice.

The first came with Mitchell reacting quickest when the ball got stuck in the Leatherhead keeper's pads. As it became free he was on hand to slot home from close range. The second saw Mulley shoot, which the 'keeper got his stick to, but it wasn't enough to stop the ball crossing the line. 2 - 0 at half-time.

The second half saw us have much more of the play, however we couldn't quite make it count as much as we perhaps deserved. That said, we scored twice more, both from short corners. The first, Mulley slotted home after the 'keeper had saved Indy's initial shot, and the second Indy found the target again, but avoided the 'keeper to see his shot hit the backboard.

And then the conditions decided to give us a kick. Leatherhead threw men forward in one more try, which proved successful. With three opposition players around me I tried to turn, but on the slippery pitch it was like spinning the wheel. They broke, Phil came out to try and meet the onslaught, but the ball was passed round him, evaded the covering efforts of myself, Will and Woj, and the opposition got themselves on the scoresheet.

Fortunately for us, time was not on their side and we closed the game out.

POM was Harvs for an all energy display.
DOD was Dav for his wardrobe malfunction.

Thanks to Steve M for umpiring.