W 7-0
Goals: Whatley x 3, Lomas x2, Collier x1, Haynes x 1
Report by Ben Berndes-Cade
As we reached the peak of the British summer time, with the heat of the weather affecting all the players, we set off with 2 giants of summer league engaging in a competition to see who could retain top position or, who could steal it away. Coming into this game however, we knew that we’d have to dig deep in order to break the 1’s of West Hampstead, as they already proved a valuable opponent to that of the Sabre’s team. A top of the table clash resulted in Veysel Demir having to be on his toes at all times, of which he was, but it eventually only came back to bite the team later in the match…
Todd Lomas opened the scoring by getting his obligatory short corner drag flick goal, whilst finally getting to play in his preferred forward position, hassling the opposition. Harry Hanes was in the thick of it, attempted stick tackles left and right only to be parried away by the rapid pace of his quick feet saw him become the centre of attention for the opposition. We also got to see Barney Collier’s debut for the one of the summer league teams as he proved ever present in the team and contributed wonderfully to the team by scoring his first goal in his first appearance! In total we got to see 2 goals for Todd, 3 for Alastair Whatley, 1 for Harry and 1 for Barney.
Fantastic support from Rob Gill and Mitch Read on the side-lines, managing the subs, while also encouraging and stimulating the team for more effort and vigour throughout the battle.
By the end of it, we were 7-0 up and were looking for our 8th with the final play of the game as the umpires signalled with their whistle’s the end of the game before our final short corner routine commenced. Our corner setup was clean, precise and ended in a glorious back-post goal from Ben Berndes-Cade. Celebrations however, were cut short by the umpire’s whistles as the ever space-cadet that is Veysel Demir managed to walk past his own 25. A rule which perplexed him
But a great contest in the end which precedes the classic Sabre’s vs Snipers Rematch scheduled for the 23rd of June at 7pm. Both teams tied with 15 points each with the Snipers edging out on goal difference for now…will the Sabre’s conquer the Snipers once again, or will the Snipers have their revenge? We’ll have to find out…