Magnets 4 - 1 Old Kingstonians MO50s (A)

LHL Masters O50s Cup

Scorers: Powdrell, Waller, Wingfield, Michael

This was the first match of the inaugural London Masters O50s Cup, which pitted us against OKs, who had finished runners-up to us in the league. Like so many sides we play, they are a well-organised and experienced unit. However, with our midfield bolstered by Stoner and Noaksy, we knew that we had a strong lineup more than capable of taking the game to OKs. And so it proved. 

We started strongly and dominated play from the outset. An unfortunate ricochet early on saw Wingers felled by a ball that struck him forcefully square on the forehead. As he took time out on the bench to recuperate we called on our stalwart President for his first taste of Magnets hockey in a while. And he made an immediate impression, somehow steering the ball in at the far post with a trademark one-handed lunge at the ball. 

It may have taken a detour via the GK's pads, but nobody cared about that and the team was delighted to see Powders score in his brief cameo. Further chances followed and we were quickly 4-0 up by half-time, with a tap-in from Wingers, a sliding deflection from Luke to round off a good PC move, and a cheeky lob over the GK by Waldo.

OKs came out for the second half with renewed intent and we found ourselves under some real pressure for the first time in the match. We still had plenty of opportunities to increase our lead, but complacency and poor decision making was our undoing as several promising moves petered out threatening the goal. Although OKs scored, it was little more than a consolation.

This was a match we dominated, the result of a good team performance built on working for each another and good individual showings - most pleasing and enjoyable.