MATCH REPORT M2 v Berkhampstead and Hemel Hempstead 4’s

The sun shone bright at the home of hockey as we welcomed Berkhampstead and Hemel Hempstead 4s (Berko), who during the warm-up seemed to have as many players in their squad as letters in their name!!

Early on, it was evident that this was to be an enthralling and end to end encounter with our boys exhibiting excellence in our newly enshrined 3-2-3-2 formation. Having one score ruled out due to a back stick, Berko took the lead midway through the first half but Wootton achieved equilibrium shortly before the break when Mark’s thunderbolt was deflected by a Berko defender into the goal.

An eloquent, enthusiastic and encouraging team talk at half time from the skipper eulogising the new formation and how to enact it led to us emerging even more effective at the start of the second period.

After 10 minutes, we secured a short, and from the resulting initial effort, Alex reacted to the rebound to earn us a deserved 2-1 lead. Despite our efforts, the larger squad from Berko began to tell as our energy levels expended – which resulted in a Berko equaliser shortly before the end. Manager and skipper examined the evidence and agreed to switch to a 3-2-4-1 to ease the workload and secure our first point of the season, but it was not enough to prevent us from being eclipsed by Berko 3-2 with a last minute score from a short.