1st XI continue New Year blitz

1st XI 5-1 Mid Sussex
Our second friendly and a second good and comfortable win against a side in an equivalent position to us in the Sussex/Kent league alongside ours. Another chance to look at the new players pushing and wanting first XI status with some absentees.

Mid Sussex had a miserly goals against record conceding less than a goal a game which suggested a tight defence organised by our past goalkeeper James Myers. Two top-class saves in the first 20 minutes showed why but this was after we had notched two in the first 15 through Chris Valentine and Cookiey both tap ins after some really incisive and sharp hockey. Nigel had not been called into action due to our dominance but as the half progressed we lost opur way and Mid Sussex came back into the game. They fully deserved their goal just before the break. Our problem seemed to stem from the reluctance to play the short one stop hockey that we had played with the ball being transferred across the pitch stretching the opposition. We also lost our shape as we became a little cavalier.

3 goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half wrapped up the game, two from Rippers and a second from Cookiey, the latter another tap in having robbed the defence of the ball and having a three-on-one against the keeper - who had been changed at half time. Once again we lost our shape and the pattern of play just as we had last week so we do need to recognise this and ensure it is not repeated in the forthcoming league encounters. The solution is a simple one which will be invoked against OKs.

Cato and CB were their usual dominating selves with Nick Lewis having his best game at the back making sure he heeded the advice of avoiding the use of the long ball. Nick Wood also had a far more solid game than last week at centre back making a series of uncompromising tackles.

We lacked a bit of fitness in the midfield which was the cause of our less effective second periods in each half and we were guilty of allowing the game to become stretched with us being saved by Nigel making three excellent saves to keep the the scoreline as it was. CV ran off the ball well and Cookiey read the game extremely well to fill in the hole created by CVs surging runs.

Two good performances with the side beginning to take a settled look about it and we now need to take the 40 minutes of top hockey into the league, play it for 55 minutes and avoid the nailbiting odd-goal victories. David Knapp