Men's 1
Matches
Sat 03 Dec 2016  ·  Kent/Sussex 2
Horsham 2
2
2
South Saxons Hockey Club
Men's 1
Saxons fight for deserved away point.

Saxons fight for deserved away point.

Paul Merison7 Dec 2016 - 19:45
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Match Report from Brock Smith. South Saxons picked up their first away point of the season after coming from two goals down.

On the back of a fine home performance last week against Crowborough, Saxons looked to gain their first away points against a mid table rival Horsham. With Jon Meredith unavailable, Nick Taylor and youngster Bailey Wright made their 1st team debuts. Saxons started the game well with Gavin Cload and Tobias Reed distributing the ball around the back, and Paddy Cornish making good forward passes. Nick Taylor was finding plenty of space on the left but Saxons struggled to find him with the majority of play going down the right.

Saxons found themselves battling against the current, challenged by an organised and well drilled Horsham side. A well worked goal gave the home team an early lead, which put Saxons on the back foot. Horsham appeared to know how to work the keeper and man of the match, Brock Smith (now back on form) managed to keep the attackers at bay with some divine goalkeeping. Despite his efforts Horsham scored a second goal, thanks to some individual brilliance from their centre forward.

It could have been worse but Brock Smith made a stunning save off a drag flick, which unbeknown to himself caused a suspected fracture to his wrist. At the other end, debutant Bailey Wright nearly claimed an assist as he poked the ball through to Busbridge but the 'keeper closed him down quickly.

At half time and at 2-0 down the Saxons players heads had slightly dropped as the score line didn't reflect the balance of play by any means. Some inspirational words from Captain Jamie Busbridge and Andrew Acott whipped Saxons into shape, and from the start of the second half Saxons appeared to be the stronger side.

Great team play allowed Busbridge and Alex Coombs to test the home team's goalkeeper on numerous occasions. The refreshed Saxons dominated play and the home side conceded many fouls and bookings through lack of focus and fitness. Saxons who in the pre-match brief were determined not leave empty handed started to find the attaching patterns which worked so well against Crowborough the previous week. Finding Nick Taylor and Acott Saxons became more creative and it was only a matter of time until the goal would come. They were rewarded with a goal when some neat passing in midfield led to Acott bursting into the D, exchanging a 1-2 with Olli Beal, Acott finishing into the empty net.

Spirited from their first goal the team were looking regimented and unstoppable and after good pressure in the oppositions final third Saxons won a short corner. A well injected pass from Tudor Stainsby led to Alex Coombs rounding the oncoming blocker and flicking the ball past the keeper into the net.

Although Saxons were caught on the break a few times nothing looked to challenge Smith or his defence. Ill disciplined Horsham played the final ten minutes with 10 men, which allowed Saxons to push to find a winning goal, but with the final whistle concluding the game at 2-2 they were happy with a deserved point to help secure their place in the table.

Match details

Match date

Sat 03 Dec 2016

Kickoff

TBC

Competition

Kent/Sussex 2

League position

7
Horsham 2
8
South Saxons 1
Team overview
Further reading