BU18 Vikings Lose Out at Loughts

Boys U18 Vikings 1 - 4 Old Loughtonians BU18 (A)

To Old Loughts for Week 2 of the U18 Tier 1 league comp. As the boys become men, the warm up period pre game had all the hallmarks of a men’s/uni hockey fixture. As the digital clock ticked over 1 O’clock (the pushback time) only eight Surbiton players were on the pitch. Fordy had been laid low, struck midships in a school football match vs Corinthian Casuals/Jazz Hatters United, and the Allsop/Ruocco wagon had done a collect from Junior training and had failed to realise on the 1.5 hour journey around the North Circular, that it might be an idea to put on hockey socks, hockey shoes, insert contact lenses in car rather than at Luxborough Lane. Just village. Alex, in the coaching role, glowered silently in the dug out - his neatly turned out branded Mizuno kit in sharp contrast to one of the darkest days of last year when Dan Foulger coached in attire that looked like an homage to Rab C Nesbitt. 

To the hockey. Old Loughts had some pacey forwards and midfielders and the Vikings had their work cut out. One counter attack was stopped but a yellow card was brandished for a physical body check. The down-to-ten was a theme as the Surbiton side collected a number of greens and yellows. That said, they played some fairly fluent hockey with a bare 10/11 - Geering was finding pockets of space and feeding Alf and Dexter up front where neat connections were made.

Shinny, in goal, was on top form making a number of diving saves. Despite Sammie at one point trying out the full hook function of the JDH93 , when one of his aerials was hooked onto the hard shoulder of the adjoining M11, his cross field aerials to the rapid Hebert at right half were giving the side some forward momentum. Cormac worked tirelessly and held the ball up well as did Sam A putting in a lung busting shift in midfield.

Geering had equalised with a neat reverse stick push after a Hebert drag flick to make it 1-1 at the break. The bare 11 meant that energy levels faded in the second half, and as the card count grew, so it proved harder to stop Old Loughts’ overloads/counters. Final score 4-1.

Next week sees a cup match with availability looking strong. It remains to be seen whether the returning Upper 6th players will bring battled-hardened National League Men's 2 experience or beat-one-then run the ball onto the oppo's open stick/whiney prima donna!