Match Report

Match : 2nd XI v Mossley 4ths
Date : 2004-01-17
Venue : H
Score : 3-3
Scorers : Nicholl (2), Murphy

By Stephen Swann

We know we are a good team, yet we haven't performed well since Christmas. This encounter with Mossley should've been another opportunity to beat a team sitting close to the top of the league, yet...

Our passing was inaccurate, our tackling was poor, our vision was non-existant. We were 3-0 down and something had to change!

Wholesale changes at half-time might've helped... 7 out of the 11 positions were altered! And there was a quick payback for the ambition:

Quick thinking from the captain gifted Nicholl an opportunity he could not miss. Murph then drilled the ball into the backboards from a penalty corner, then Nicholl grabbed his brace after fine work from Irwin.

Baird had a chance, Swann had a chance and other penalty corners were won. But alas, the game drifted towards a 3-3 draw. A share of the spoils was a fair result bearing in mind the poor quality play from the Green Machine in the first half.

If only we could get up our head of steam at the start of the match, rather than when the result is almost beyond us!

Next week's cup match has to be a different affair - especially as the team will be without the services of some influential players!

G Cooke
P Leitch
A Bell
A Murphy
S Campbell
G Tumilson
B Watters
S Swann (captain)
A Blair
S Nicholl
S Hamilton
A Young
P Irwin
E Baird

S Nicholl