Men's 4
Matches
Sat 26 Nov 2016  ·  Division 4
South Saxons Hockey Club
Men's 4
1
1
Brighton & Hove Men's 7s
Quickfooted Queenslander Lochi inspires superb comeback

Quickfooted Queenslander Lochi inspires superb comeback

sol Buckner27 Nov 2016 - 21:39
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An outstanding team effort helped South Saxons IV secure a first point in three tough consecutive away fixtures.

After suffering heavy defeats in their previous two games in Sussex Hockey Division Four, skipper Sol Buckner was keen to get his promotion ambitions back on track.

A re-jigged back line featuring the experienced Jeremy Bunday and Micky Acott and Aussie rookie Lochi Whitehead, helped provide a stiffer rear guard and teenage keeper Ben Cohen, making his league debut, offered an imposing presence in goal.

The hosts pressed from the start with Saxons looking to attack on the break.

The game ebbed both ways. Bunday made a superb mid-air stick clearance to deny a goal-bound shot before Brighton eventually broke the deadlock on 25 minutes striking inside a congested D.

However Saxons regrouped in the second half and poured forward looking for an equaliser.

This left them exposed to the counter attack and rookie Cohen, aged 17, pulled off a series of brilliant saves to deny Brighton's front line.
Man-of-the-match Whitehead burst out the blocks every time Brighton had a short corner and thwarted their every attempt. During one clearance, the quickfooted Queenslander was so enthusiastic he almost ran the length of the pitch with his facemask on before the umpire blew his whistle.

On 55 minutes Whitehead's smart shot brought a fine save as Saxons piled on the pressure.

And minutes later it was skipper Buckner who deservedly levelled the game, superbly evading three defenders in the D before deftly slotting past the keeper from close range.

"After two really tough previous games that was a welcome relief," said Buckner. "The team raised its game and stood up to the task. "We needed a decent performance and we got more than that. Ben was outstanding in goal in his first league game. Lochi was incredible in his running. I couldn't have asked for more from the team."

Saxons travel to Eastbourne V on Saturday for a 10.30am push back at the Summerdown pitch of Eastbourne College.

Team: Ben Cohen, Jez Bunday, Micky Acott, Lochi Whitehead, Les Cornish, Matt Rigby, Pete Klein, Andy Ho, Michael Whitmore, Julian Hooton, Joe Woodford, Sol Buckner (c), Max Linklater

Man of match: Whitehead

Match details

Match date

Sat 26 Nov 2016

Kickoff

15:00

Competition

Division 4

League position

4
South Saxons Mens 4's
8
Brighton & Hove Men's 7s
Team overview
Further reading