| BROXBOURNE
V: 4
HARPENDEN III: 3
4.12.04
It
was with slight trepidation that les super bleus – or on
this occasion the sartorially blessed super oranges – set
off for possibly the most arboreal pitch in the Div 6SW, Broxbourne’s
very own hedge-trimmed Theatre of Dreams. A last minute selection
crisis saw Preesty’s cricket mates, Seb and Jules, step
into the breach and wield a hockey stick for the first time. Harpenden
headed down the A1 explaining the intricacies of the third-party
obstruction rule to the newcomers.
Harpenden
were psyched up in their pre-match pep talk by Tom Preest, who
pointed out that Broxbourne was the only ward in the country,
south of the Watford Gap, to have a fascist councillor in an endeavour
to make the 3s the most politically literate team in the club.
The prevailing mood was summed up by the ever-optimistic Simon
Redford, who later recalled, “I thought we were going to
get dicked on 6-0 … at least.” As Broxbourne warmed
up they looked impressive, replete with their very own Ronnie
Corbett Automaton™, last deployed by Letchworth.
Harpenden’s
game plan had always been to frustrate Broxbourne in the hope
they could snatch a goal on the break, and in the first half they
put this plan into effect with great diligence. James Bird, returning
from a lengthy spell injured, showed why he had been so sorely
missed by Harpenden for the best part of the first half of the
season. Together with Simon Redford he broke up attack after attack.
Reds looked far happier back as sweeper, after the previous week’s
debacle involving a lengthy debate about the semantic difference
between sweeper and centre-back. Rich Harle is also to be commended
for the adhesive fashion in which he stuck to his man.
On
the break Broxbourne looked stretched, the ageing legs of the
Broxbourne defence proving no match for the pace of James Evans
and Malcolm Jones. It was no surprise that Jones eventually managed
to bundle the ball home in one of the least graceful goals of
his career.
The
Broxbourne unit came out in the second half like a bull to a red
rag. Their fury was vented within 30 seconds, when they levelled
the score. Simon Redford’s prophesy looked to be materialising
when shortly afterwards the light blues of Broxbourne made it
2-1.
To
Harpenden’s credit they never gave up, their resilience
embodied by Peter Evans who, despite being hindered by an over-sized
away shirt, commanded the back of the midfield diamond majestically.
Harpenden deservedly soon found themselves back in the game. If
Malcolm Jones’ first goal would not look out of place for
the MK Dons at the National Hockey Stadium, his second goal was
more befitting of the Maracanã in Rio, a virtuoso effort
from just within the Broxbourne half.
Harpenden
looked out of the game as Broxbourne edged into the lead through
a penalty corned, and then doubled their advantage from a flick.
Jon Allen valiantly tried to make amends for his mistake in conceding
the penalty stroke but to no avail.
However,
there has rarely been a dull moment in the 3s campaign this season
and this game was to prove to be no exception. Realising there
was nothing to lose Harpenden pressed forward and earned a penalty
flick after a cynical use of the foot on the line for which the
defender was lucky not to see a card. Malcolm Jones’ flick
went straight into the keeper and it looked like he had missed
his chance to complete a hat-trick. A couple of minutes later
the Silver Fox managed to convert a superlative move that saw
Bird, Clements and Preest combine decisively before Jones was
released into the D. Any celebration was subdued as Harpenden
realised that they had left it too late.
Les
supers oranges (for the day) left the pitch contemplating what
a cruel game hockey can be. The whole team were secure in the
knowledge that they had made a supreme effort, no less than those
with limited playing experience.
Report by
Ali Keith
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