DSHC vs Penzance (3-1)

On a typical south west November day (cool, breezy, and persistently annoying light rain), the ‘A’ team set off to the depths of Cornwall for a match against Penzance A (seventh away game so far this season). Without our Captain, Vice Captain and a few other notables (but bolstered by the return of Elliot and Eddy), the eleven stalwarts arrived determined to get back to our winning ways. After a stirring team talk (try not to cock up - pass, etc) accompanied by some of Kyles “bangin' music” we had a measured warm up and prepared for a good tussle with a team four points above us in the league. Penzance started strongly, demonstrating their ‘drills and skills’, but the defence held solid, repulsing some well organised attacks and then building attacking positions of our own. Eventually, one of the committed challenges by the elder centre back won the ball from Penzance’s key play-maker and resulted in a pin-point pass upfield which allowed Reece to drive in and score. DS (in their heart of hearts) realised that this was probably against the run of play so far, but did not care one jot about that! The rest of the half continued in a similar manner, DS soaking up pressure, and attacking on the break, eventually winning a penalty corner which led to a “calm and measured” (read of that what you will) finish from Eddy.

2-0 up at half time, we realised that we needed another goal at least to keep safe, and expected Penzance to come at us with renewed vigour (which they did, taking advantage of their substitutes). DS stuck to their guns, defending solidly and, in some cases, almost suicidally, until Penzance eventually managed to score from the second strike at a penalty corner. We went from hot to cold, occasionally building measured attacks through the midfield, passing as we should, and sometimes tried to force it too hard from the back (and up front). We had a few periods of measured possession and, inevitably, Kieran managed to get his stick on the ball in front of their goal and did not miss! There were many more chances at both ends - our defence remained solid, especially Christian’s head (he probably should not have leapt straight back to his feet after that crack, but his impromptu “Bambi’s mother” impression was remarkable. Adam slipped once too often and left some blood on the pitch from knee and elbows, and as Penzance pressed hard upfield to try and claw a goal back, Reece came back to cover and belied his claim that “I can’t tackle, I am a centre forward”. Every member of the team dug out, challenged for the ball and never gave up - Kyle proved that he can run with both hands on the stick and then pass! Elliot worked unfailingly in midfield and worked to belie his “baby Brian” tag by passing at least five times each half! Codie made some great saves, whilst Russ, Carl and Adam made some great tackles and telling passes. It was gratifying to win against a good team whilst not playing at our best - a good team performance. If we play with more patience, recognise when we need to recycle, and remember to look for the ball back towards the top of the D, rather than try the narrow angle on goal, we can get the goal difference up!

Well played today and thank you all for a great game played with excellent spirit and teamwork. MoM points were widely distributed, top was Reece for a great all round performance, closely followed by Eddy; DoD was eventually claimed by Kieran for goal avoidance…….:-)