RPHC M5s vs Addiscombe 2s at Home

A return to the Carlton Road Beach Club and Spa this week and a surface that was playing pretty much at its best owing the torrential rain of the past few days.

We faced largely the same side we succumbed to a 2-1 loss against in the away fixture and, perhaps most notably, the same goalkeeper who combined extraordinary agility with a distinct lack of space between him and any observable part of the net or backboard.

An unusual lack of defensive personnel led to Mike J starting at Centre Back, with Paul V at Left and Ethan on the right. They were under the cosh from the start. Distribution was effective when we could get hold of the ball but that only seemed to be coming in the form of 16 yard hits. Addiscombe left 2 men high at all times, pressing Mike into man-marking and whilst Paul was able to front mark much more effectively, they were both otherwise taken out of the game. Ethan was finding space on the right but all too often was pressed into providing defensive cover on the counters.

The midfield team of Richard, Monty, Matt S, Flynn and Pankaj were working hard but Addiscombe were breaking down play every time there was momentum. The pitch felt crowded, well pressed and all too often the miracle ball felt like the only option. The upshot of this was limited service for the rolling 3 for 2 forward line of Snowy, Kalyan and Ben E.

At around the 10 minute mark, the pressure told and an errant foot gave Addiscombe a short corner. A good injection, met by the number 1 runner but a deft slip, pass and the ball was slotted into the bottom left. 0-1.

All of 8 ish minutes later, they struck again. This time from open play. We could blame the confusion of playing against midfield twins on opposite sides of the park but truth be told Messrs Johnson and Vidler only noticed this in the last 5 (fines noted). Solid triangular work in the Addiscombe midfield during a counter cut Mike and Paul out and a waiting Addiscombe forward did the necessary damage at the back post. 0-2.

Well worked opportunities but they felt frustratingly defendable. The captain quietly reminded his defensive and goalkeeping colleagues that shipping two was acceptable (up to the team to score more at the other end – it’s an attacking sort of sport after all) but that two conceded was quite sufficient, thank you.

It could easily have been 3 to Addiscombe by the end of the first 25 were it not for fancy goal mouth footwork from Jacob P and some excellent pad clearing work by his defensive colleagues. Still resembling a punch bag from the Horley game, Mike J was indulging in some further body on the line defending, scrambling for the ball against his opposite Captain (and confusingly his namesake!).

Richard T and Monty were pressed into defensive service and Matt S was do a grand job of charging back to harry the Addiscombe wingers. Flynn too was popping up on the right and helping to limit the damage.

Things improved in the final 10 minutes of the first half, ball speed up a notch, simple passes being taken but we were still being crowded out by pairs of Addiscombe midfielders and we still looked vulnerable when not in possession.

The shift in momentum was just enough to win us a short corner or two and to give us hope… thankfully this time not the killing kind…

One such short corner led to a solid Taylor injection but Addiscombe were out quickly and a top of the D scramble to recover posession by Snowy and Ethan saw Monty receive the ball to his left. Positioning it out on the reverse he fired a cracking reverse stick strike. The keeper was equal to it but the ever goal hungry instincts of Snowy saw him follow in and no amount of determined goal line defending was going to stop him. I think he’d have pushed the ball, goal keeper and entire back line into the net if necessary.

1-2 down at half time….. an all too familiar feeling from the away fixture, back in it yes, but not in it enough to really turn the game around.

Two things were needed. Inspiration and perhaps a tweak or two to some roles… but mostly inspiration… The usually jovial and positive Captain was about as mean-spirited as he could muster in the attempt (ie not really at all), but it was doubtless the words and stature of his Vice Captain that landed. No guts no glory, Richard made it very, very clear that we were not to lose this hockey match and that the for the next 35 minutes no matter what the circumstances, we were not going to capitulate – quite the opposite….

The skipper subbed to evaluate things a little from the sidelines (Howard to left back, Paul back to centre) and began pondering a couple of changes…

When not involved in goal scoring attempts, Monty was executing his stick skills with usual casual aplomb, launching the ball across his body from the strong side before deftly collecting it on his reverse and striding past his opponent. Addiscombe though, were hunting in 2s and 3s in the middle of the park and whilst he always emerged with the ball or a free hit, we couldn’t get the momentum going – play kept breaking down giving our opponents plenty of time to reset.
Matt S too was starting to create danger on the left – finding a little room to run into and frequently finding Kalyan. His game sadly ended prematurely after he took a knock being absolutely poleaxed entering the Addiscombe 23 on one such run.

So some changes, some planned, others less so… Ethan to left mid, Flynn to partner Richard in the screening role and Monty to right mid now supported by Mike J at right back…. And…. click.

A game line that felt at time almost permanently on the Reigate 23 was at times flung back to the Addiscombe end. Paul, Ben and Mike J (along with utility super sub Howard) had been forced into man to man marking very deep in their own half up to that point… suddenly Addiscombe were pressed into defensive action along the length of the pitch.

That’s not to say they weren’t still a countering threat, but when they did break Paul was his usual masterful self in reading the game, stepping forward, intercepting and breaking down play. He was making good use of Ben B and Mike who were able to get passes away sharply and find space.

Flynn, with seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm and under the barked instructions of Sergeant Major Taylor was involved in every attacking play, and every defensive play. 23 to 23, hurtling back and forth, linking passes one minute before hassling and tackling his opponents the next. His work rate and execution were superb.

Monty now had just the one marking defender to deal with… so he popped him in his pocket and got on with the business of firing pass after pass into Snowy, Ben E and Kalyan. When unable to thread a through ball he used square passes to Pankaj and Ethan to great effect who repeatedly returned the favour.

Richard, thoroughly pumped was providing Monty with plentiful opportunities – firing aerials into space and excellent cross field balls. Ben B was enjoying himself too, finding Ethan down the line on the left but also deceiving everyone on the park (thankfully not including his targets of Pankaj and Monty). By swivelling his feet round at the last minute and firing cross field passes – on more than occasion the panicked transfer of the entire Addiscombe defence resulted in enormous gaps.

Into these gaps went team Lal-Quantick. Never more than 10 or so meters apart they were indulging in some cracking short ball hockey. Making use of Kalyan, who would emerge, seemingly out of stealth mode, to pop up from behind Addiscombe players and make up the third point of the triangle. Short corners were an increasingly common result….
… On one such occasion on about the 55 minute mark, a slick injection from Richard found Ethan stopping for Snowy. A strike from Snowy rebounded to Ethan who picked out Pankaj with a superb ball, he stepped onto it and two keepers would have been required to prevent the goal – 2-2.

The momentum had shifted. It is a source of pride that the Priory 5s (mostly!) do not whinge, chat back, engage in live commentary with the oppo or generally behave like footballers. We whinge, bark, moan (supportively ?) to each other – not our opposite numbers or the umpires.

The equaliser and change in the game did have an impact on our opponents though, and there was a frisson of doubt, a little more frustration and a mild sense of panic…

So whilst it wasn’t inevitable, the third and final goal for the Priory men felt… right. At least from our perspective…

Another pressure laden period of play – this time in no small amount due to Ben E’s efforts. Receiving and laying the ball off before sprinting between two or more Addiscombe defenders he was dragging them out of play, creating yet more space for the midfield to work in. Another through ball from Richard, another splendid Monty ball rifled in from the right, more Lal-Qauntick short ball excellence and another short corner.

Snowy had by now thoroughly tested the Addiscombe keeper with straight strikes in open and penalty corner play… He’d stood up well to the peppering and was having an excellent game. Rude. He had taken to logging early in the short corners though… time to go over the top.

A Taylor quality injection, beautifully administered Ethan stop and Snowy launched a flick to the left mid / top left hand corner of the netting. The Addiscombe number 2 runner couldn’t get his stick to it but a chunk of torso and a bit of arm would do to stop the goal, the flick deflected harmlessly to the left. On target, preventing a goal, no stick involved. A penalty stroke.

Once more the ice man cometh and once more he delivered. Keeper to the left, flick to the top right – goal. Priory claiming the lead for the first time in the game.

12 ish minutes to go. No sense we were clinging on to the one goal margin, if anything - lets score more to secure it - was the attitude. That shouldn’t take anything away from continuing defensive heroics in the midfield and the back line but it was good hockey, played the way we want to play and with posession and territory now largely in our favour.

We did of course execute the traditional once a game bibby-bobbler 16 to invite Addiscombe to a final showdown but a sliding Mike and final whistle secured the victory.

0-2 down to 3-2 up. A 3s skip Milzy pointed out – top billing for Match of the day. Great to see so many of us back in the club for a celebratory beverage afterwards too.

A fantastic team effort and it shows in the MoM and Champagne votes…. A special mention ro Rich but Man of the Match is split between our two extraordinary on-pitch Juniors:

Flynn for his absolutely relentless involvement in every part of our game, especially in the second half – not just A for effort but A for execution too, great passing play and in picking ball after ball from the Addiscombe midfield he was a major component in our ability to turn the tide. And Monty – silky skills as ever, but more importantly, brilliant decision making even under intense pressure – knowing when to make the charge, when not too and which pass to pick – assists, completed passes and through balls galore. Very, very well-done fellas.

Snowy’s goal scoring brilliance was pipped to the champagne this week by another form of inspiration. That of Sergeant Major Taylor, not just for the half time talk but for embodying the grit, guts, muck and bullets attitude we absolutely needed. A performance not without flair too – even the Addiscombe skipper had to admit “rare to see the aerial used properly at our level – but it actually was there – into space and in the path of one of your guys”; a cracking game Rich, thank you.