Result: Won 4-3

Scorers: O Groves x2, J Meer, T Acton

The off-again on-again saga of the league entry of the men’s 7th XI finally resolved last Saturday and it was on.  The team composition itself was a testament to the club’s spirit, drawing from the juniors, back to hockey recruits and a smattering of players from higher teams doubling up.

Chelmsford’s goals came from Owen Groves (two), Jack Meer and Tim Acton.  Overall an all round strong performance, with the team and individual players growing in confidence throughout the course of the game.  Between the sticks, Dillon Anthony takes great credit for his role in the win with some great shot saving and earning the Man of the Match accolade.  At the back Will and James co-ordinated well with Alex and Birdie.  Jonah, Elliott, and David built around Macca and Jack in midfield, with Tim, Owen, and Marcus leading up front.

Some of the more notable moments:

Macca’s radical call to send the team out in a 3-4-2 formation for the second half was over-ruled by team consensus, and simple arithmetic.

Jack Meer’s’ goal was a great strike, thus ensuring that we don’t need to talk too much about his disallowed drag flicked penalty corner.  (Basically, it was beautifully buried in the top left corner, but disallowed by over-officious application of the requirement to score from within the D – you’d think you’d get some slack in the 7s…)

The fourth goal came straight off the training pitch: a ball from halfway to the top of the D, laid square and taken it for a superb finish by Tim Acton.  As the match progressed, some legs tired more than others; the late substitution of David Ireland was only questioned because it wasn’t clear he still had the energy to make it off the pitch.

Doughnut of the Day awarded jointly to Jonah Tweed (suspicion of illegal collusion among junior voting) and Jack (dictated by tradition, reinforced by superb drag-flick from outside the circle).

Particular thanks to Macca, Jack, Owen, Alex, Birdie for paying this early fixture ahead of their schedule matches later (and apologies to their teams if it took a toll on their performance) and to Matt and Tom Gore for umpiring and facilitating a flowing and enjoyable game.