6 Goals netted

The Men’s 1s last fixture in the first round robin of games for the season was against local rivals Blueharts, who were currently at the bottom end of the table, S & S knew though they would be in for a battle as the opposition to add spice to the fixture contained a couple or so former players. Blueharts started the brighter of the two sides as S & S took time to get into the game. Blueharts claimed first blood after an errant defensive ball out was picked up leaving the defence exposed for a simple tap in. This was the spur S & S needed and they were soon on level terms, Alyn Meredith producing an excellent reverse stick strike. The balance of play was shaded by S & S after this and it was them that took the lead before half time, Stuart Robson somehow producing a reverse stick chip at full stretch into the top of the net.

The second half started with S & S soon exerting dominance and with our young home grown talent coming to the fore. U18s youngsters Jack Chiswell, Lewis Bridger and Liam Stevens all working hard on & off the ball. It has been a feature of the Men’s 1s this season that the blend of experienced players and the raw vim of youth have combined well to leave the team at the top of the table at the halfway point of the season. S & S took a deserved 3-1 lead early on, the prolific Chris Fell being the goal scorer. Ten minutes into the half a Blueharts player was dismissed with a red card for violent behaviour and although S & S found themselves down a player for a few minutes themselves, they were still able to take advantage firstly from a well worked penalty corner routine which was finished by Stevens, Meredith then soon added his second shortly after. The rout was completed with probably the most notable goal, Doug Dawson producing a rare effort, which was a glanced reverse stick finish on the turn, following a good ball in from Jamie Hall.

Blueharts produced a consolation goal at the very end, but by then the game was well & truly won. Another good team performance by S & S, but it was great to see fine turns from unsung guys such as Ramohan Bhogal, Tom Pateman and Jamie Bellingham who have all come up through the club’s ranks. In a fortnight’s time S & S entertain Bourne Deeping in their last game before Xmas.