An enjoyable evening had by all in the very chilly conditions at KP last night and with most of us (who are of age) making a first appearance of the season for the hockey section at club bar Shamrock in TST it was a promising start to 2011.
Warm ups went well and we started well, creating a couple of early half chances from the by line which we missed. We were absolutely all over them the whole half, but although the communication was there, the listening was not and we were continuously not hitting the right pass, not switching the play, not hitting the wide open wingers and not passing back under pressure. It took a lovely lift past the keeper and shot from a tight angle, not the easiest but brilliantly executed by Shooter to give us a deserved lead. Disco almost put a diving Jarrad in at the far post with a lovely ball from a left wing breakdown after that. And then right before half time we finally got everything right, four passes from RB to LB to LW to the D but we didn't score. Cue a halftime chat, which now included Benno newly arrive from HV1 (!!!), accentuating the massive positives of the half and what we should have been doing.
Recreio always seem to start matches slowly, but then start the second half very well and so it proved again as they had a good first five minutes in which we are a bit sloppy and panicky. But in the middle of that we scored our second and it was a peach. Flemo from a 16 looked for Jarrad straight but as they jumped in front of that spotted Disco at inside left on halfway and nailed it straight to him, Disco took it on and attacked the defence and (via someone else?) found Kimmie wide open at the far top of the D and as the keeper charged he nailed it in the corner, a real beauty that leaves him on 5 to Shooter's 7 in the topscorer charts.
Thereafter we were composed, clever and exciting at different times, and did all the things we'd talked about well. Jarrad poked in the third late on for our best win to date, only Eli and Disco's late injuries dampening our spirits though both appear not too serious.
Apologies to the defenders for lack of mention. Everyone played really well but the fact that the only save I had to make all match was from Flemo means I have little to mention!