Newent 3s V Gloucester IVs
Saturday 9th November
It was clear to see as the team arrived that today there would be a very young forward line, a young midfield (supported by an honorary member from the middle aged club) and a wealth of experience, deep heat and medical supports in defence.
Selfie and John raided the boots of their cars to bring out enough spare kit so they could dress half the team and the warm up could begin.
Before the match started both teams made a large circle around the centre spot, bowed their heads and then waited for Matthew to finish tying up his shoes on the sideline. When he eventually arrived a minute of silence was observed by all.
Newent made a quick start to the game. A quick ball out to the lefthand side was pushed back into the middle where one of their better players (2s ?) dribbled past several players and then passed the ball into the D where their forward was waiting and scored.
2:05 1-0 Newent
Gloucester didn’t drop their heads though and very quickly got back on even terms. A poor pass across the D from their defence was intercepted by Matthew who turned one way and then the other and executed a fantastic reversed stick strike into their goal.
3:20 Newent 1-1 Gloucester
For the next 15 minutes the match was evenly balanced with both teams having their chances but neither team unable to put the ball in the back of the net.
Unfortunately Newent were awarded a short corner and they finally managed to put one away.
19:45 Newent 2 – 1 Gloucester
The rest of the half continued to ebb and flow with both teams rolling through their subs to keep some fresh legs and energy on the pitch but at 35 mins it was still 2-1.
After a welcome drink and some wise words from the elders at half time both teams re-entered the fray.
The second half continued in the same manner as the first but Newent started to build up from the back a little more consistently and it was only the grit and determination of the 4 musketeers in defence and some fantastic saves from our Goalie (Leo) that kept the score unchanged.
Gloucester upped their game and the quick counter attack was the weapon of choice. Several times we had a one on one with their last man (central defender) but he played out of his skin and just managed to get his stick in the right place every time to break down the play. We did manage to secure some short corners as well but were unable to benefit from them.
Final result Newent 2 – 1 Gloucester