Men's 3rd XI Vs Ashby 3

South set off on a long journey to their away-day fixture for a 1.30 start on a hockey pitch doing its best impression of an Olympic swimming pool. Luckerly, Mike has moved on from his purple patch of slipping over every week, however he must have gifted the curse to Tom, who left the field with a bleeding knee due to a bit of slip and slide action at the back.

It was never going to be an easy game, with Ashby being a strong team towards the top of the table, however South sat back towards the start of the game and absorbed the pressure perfectly. Great defensive work from Craig, Bingo and Knapps saw a constant barrage of efforts seen off, despite Stan's amazing work of putting the ball out for no reason resulting in a short corner for the opposition . The first half saw few chances for South, however this didn't stop the midfield mystros of Tom and Will from having some success on the ball and completing stylish passes and dribbles with the demon  full backs of Adam and Tom C keeping the wings secure.

End of first half. 0-0

South had a few minutes to regroup at halftime. And filled with a combination of Bingos inspiration, Craig's knowledge, Max's half time enthusiasm and a mouth full or two of water, South felt that there really was something for them in this game.

As the second half began, it initially seemed as if it was going to be a repeat of the first half with much of the ball dominated by Ashby. Once again, chances were few for South but the defensive work continued with amazing saves from Simon as well as a cracker shoulder block on the line by Craig to stop a certain net buldger of a strike. Unfortunately this pressure was to much for South and a ball managed to slip through past Simon. I can't give more details on the goal as I was not there, and only knew I was doing the match report after the game (take it or leave I'm trying to remember as much as I can). South didn't let the bad weather dampen their attitude and began to apply relentless pressure with great running (as always) from turbo Max as well as some slick play and close chances from Mike which saw him almost slot a ball past the opposition keeper multiple times. Honorable mention goes to Andy for not giving up and putting everything on the line for the game with some great tackles on opposition players after a possession loss (and the ride to the game cheers for that). Unfortunately, despite the pressure South couldn't find the net and left the field with an undeserving loss following a performance that on any other day would have got a goal or two.

Best part of the match: Tom absolutely launching himself at a low and fast ball Stan hit across the D only for his effort to be just wide (hope your shoulder is alright)

We all played a top game today and the team synergy is really starting to develop. More goals and hopefully wins (and a different match reporter) to follow in the coming weeks.