Boys' Hockey Match Reports against Ardvreck

2nd team against Ardvreck

MVP: Campbell 
 
After a good show in training yesterday, there was a positive vibe leading up to the game despite the weather. The short corners in the warmup were also looking smooth. As soon as the whistle went the boys intercepted the ball and moved it wide, leading to the first attacking play of the game. On the edge of the D the ball was turned over and pushed back towards our defence. This back and forth was the main story of the game. Belhaven focused on moving the ball wide, as requested, making easy ground to the D. We built up several opportunities in the D but couldn’t capitalise further than short corners which were defended well by a speedy runner.  
 
A quick half time chat before the game resumed in much the same manner. As the clock ticked, on the boys pushed higher and higher as their frustration grew and really applied the pressure. There was a long period of play in the attacking D, with a mixture of short corners and open play shots. This culminated in a shot bouncing off the post and off the pitch. With the momentum broken the back and forth resumed until the final whistle blew. 
 
Result: 0-0, draw. 

U11a Team against Ardvreck

Belhaven U11a 10 - 0 Ardvreck U11a

Having drawn 1-1 in a frustrating match against Ardvreck earlier in the week in a tournament we felt we had something to prove in this match.  Having finally arrived in Crieff after the minibus had broken down we were soon into the match and Wilf broke the deadlock, sweeping home a good move.

And, for the first third of 15 minutes, that is how things stayed.  The game was in the balance, and having thrown away a comfortable position to draw with Ardvreck earlier three days previous we were wary of letting it happen again.  Thankfully in the second third our persistence paid off, most notably through Basil, who ended up helping himself to several short-range goals.  Monty made it 2-0 before our pressure caused Ardvreck to make errors and after the second third we were 6-0 up.

In the third third, our ‘A’ team came back on and completed some lovely moves; Hector crossing for Archie and Wilf, and then Hector combining beautifully to set Alfie up for a wonderfully-worked left-wing goal.

So our endeavour and a near five-hour return-journey were well rewarded and we go into the Fettes matches on 23rd February in good spirit.  Please note that these will be a, b and c-team matches so we should have all 26 boys playing.

Man of the Match: Basil de la B.