Pleasing Performance for Magnets Against BromBecks

Magnets 1 – 0  Bromley & Beckenham O50s

Squad: Waller, Beaney C, Dowthwaite, Majid, Cheng, Lane, Frost, Corney, Michael, Hardy, Jackson, Green, Kumar      

Scorer: Jackson  

An away match against Brombecks is always a tricky proposition and it was gratifying to have a squad of 14 by Thursday evening. But by Friday we were down to 13 and then on Saturday morning we lost another, so down to just 12. However, bolstered by the inclusion of Luke Michael and Noaksy we had a strong squad of players and were confident of giving Brombecks a good game. Things got better when we arrived at Langley Park and ran into Howard Corney, there to watch his son play for the M3s. After some gentle persuasion from us, and having managed to cobble together some kit from the rest of the team, Howard obtained the necessary permissions from his wife to stay on and play for us, which was a real boon.  

The opening 20 minutes saw the Magnets play some very good hockey, dominating play and creating plenty of openings. Brombecks were a little shell-shocked and resorted to playing long balls up to their lone front man. These were easily cut out and the ball was constantly being recycled as the Magnets continued to press. The breakthrough eventually came from a move started at the back, through the midfield then down the sideline. Luke's hard work to carry the ball into the circle to create an opportunity was rewarded when Jacko bundled in a rebound from close range. The scoreline could have been much higher had it not been for their keeper who was quick to block and smother further half chances.

The second half saw Brombecks apply some early pressure of their own and they had several opportunities to score an equaliser.  Fortunately, Frosty was on hand to save several goal-bound shots whilst Rob Lane skillfully diverted a hard struck shot from the goal line. Those scares aside, Magnets continued to dominate possession and to create chances of our own that went begging, largely thanks to their keeper. With a single goal lead, the end of the match was a little nervy and things went slightly awry as players tired and tempers flared in reaction to a series of poor umpiring decisions. This resulted in a flurry of green and yellow cards, which could have been avoided. But overall this was a pleasing performance and a solid win that gives us confidence ahead of next week's home game against Reading which promises to be another close-fought match.