Centurions had a strong squad of 14 players , only being able to field a bare 11 in the previous games .
however due to London traffic started with 13 so no real problem . Centurions played in the same a 4:3:3 formation albeit with different players , and the unusual conundrum of managing rolling substitutes. Hampstead were the best team we have faced so far this season and played a 3:5:2 formation. This allowed us the options of pushing Knoxy from right back into an attacking support role whilst the remaining 3 defenders' could push up the field having only 2 opposition forwards to contend with. Good points were that we had the option to bring the ball back and around and change the direction of attack- Knoxy liked up well directly with Sheridan (right forward) and allowed us to move the ball down the right hand channel. however this proved to be a bit too predicable and lacked real dynamism needed increase the pressure on the opposition and /or create outcomes by upgrading or switching the play. As mentioned they were a good side with very fast and fit midfielders who broke quickly and supported aggressively with there forwards making well timed runs that were dynamic and intelligent lines changing the point of entry to the D.
Our overcommitting the attack by having 8 of our players in the final third of the pitch and 5 or 6 of them in a box 15 yards wide from the side line led to the inevitable smash and grab with a very well hit shot from their star player. One nil to them 20 minutes in to the game. The defence covered well and Paul made some great high interceptions and John got straight up to pace when he came on at left mid field with strong stepping in front and crisp release ball, we carried on finding good passes in the mid field but invariably ended up wide right and not transferring the ball around - Mathew made himself a hand full for the opposition who said latter in the bar that he was not easy to play against ( which I guess is as near to a compliment as you will get from H &W) We then suffered a few knocks, although their right back was lucky on at least 3 occasions not to be carded!. Sheridan got a knock on the head , sorry my bad no plasters , Tim went off with a crocked ankle, which loosing his mobility and close control skills was a loss for the mid field balance. At half time the emphasis was on keeping the shape and keeping joined up and not bunched up , making sue the mid field came back with their mid field so we kept a long shape not one lump at the front and one lump at the back , we needed to help break up the pressure/press on our free hits in our half as the option to bash the ball through the opposition was not a good option . Unfortunately that's what happened about 90 seconds in to the second half we got turned over in our half they played well out to our right had side where they had been doubling up on us in the first half and then got a smashing cross in to the D and a reverse stick deflection in to the net , not too dissimilar finish to the goal we conceded against Chesham
2 nil down but not out of it - the forwards upped their movement changing/switching left and right much more dynamic , Graham continued spicing things up with nice lobed balls and creative diagonal balls , so despite their attaching pressure Mike and the gang covered and worked back doubling up and supporting each other Knoxy and Paul sweeping across the D from our right to intercept and clear the ball. again Paul got the ball on the d , and Mike started to look a little stiff before departing dragging his hamstring. We defended short corners well , pleasant turn around from last week. and broke into attack switching the play from the right and then either out to the left or up front to the right added to some very cool direct line balls down our left started to make big holes in their 3 man defence, as they had a lot more covering to do and the gaps appeared. It was from one of tease fluid movement right back to central defender to mid field and out again to Sheridan (right forward0 where we found a delightfully early injection into the D, across to the far post area level with the P spot to allow John to calmly put the ball in the net . The last 10 minutes could have seen either team score but time ran out when we were on another promising build up. We didn't get any short corners , but neither did we concede. a good game of hockey great effort and resilience , and team spirit.