HSBC Hockey Club
2nd Team Match Reports
3 March 2012
HSBC 4 - Old Bordenians 4s 0
Scorers: Hargreaves 3, Sjoerd 1
MOM: Jason
TFC: Stokesy
25 February 2012
Gillingham Anchorians 3s 1 - HSBC 6
Saturday the 25th of Feb HSBC 2s played Gillingham Anchorians 3s. After many seasons in cold cutting rain in Gillingham, last Sat the sun was out, and although still a sandy and slippery pitch at least we were not cold and wet. It was really a game of 2 halves!
We started the game well and Tom Hargreaves stuck in his first goal of the day.
But Gillingham came back and started to pile on the pressure. An unfortunate error saw them awarded a short corner and they score to even up the score at 1-1. HSBC did look the stronger side throughout but could not capitalise on this.
At half time our skiing skip decided to move away from the 4-4-2 and push one of the defenders into the midfield to allow for more width and way more connection with our guys up front. This clearly yielded the required pressure and through a lot of great passing play Hargreaves got loads more moments of glory! 1-2, 1-3, 1-4!!! I think our heavily tattooed striker suddenly realised he was already a jug down and another goal would mean doubling up, so after his spurt of energy he started to feign tiredness and started passing the ball a bit more. This gave Chris Binns the opportunity to notched up another goal on his scorecard - 1-5.
Although obviously the 2s are blessed with two very talented athletic Dutch players, one is far more superior in scoring goals. Sjoerd saw his opportunity when he ran into the right top of the D and with a tremendous strike scored. Ggggggoooooooooaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!! Whhhhhhhhhoooooopppppppp wwwwhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooopppppp!!!!!! Yyyyiiiiipppppppppeeeeeeeee!!!!! His hairy ginger countryman on the side line was as ecstatic as he was! But we both got dragged down from our highs pretty quickly. Disallowed? DISALLOWED??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? Even Rob Cain (aka Vol or Caino) was as baffled as I was. Someone in Gillingham had decided to place a backup goal just behind the real goal causing an optical illusion for all spectators. Clearly I ended up taking the blame for all HSBC fans along the side of the pitch high-fiving and celebrating out of turn as I am the one who is now writing this match report! Anyway Sjoerd moment of glory still came. In a scramble on goal with multiple rebounds one of the Gillingham defenders decided to block a definite goal with something other than his stick, and for his sins a flick was awarded against Gillingham. Up step Sjoerd, and with a clinically executed flick the last goal of the game was a fact. Gillingham 1 – HSBC 6. A great game and very good team performance all round, we must try and get more of these games - a very nice way to spend a sunny Saturday!
Scorers: Hargreaves 4, Sjoerd, Binns
18 February 2012
HSBC 7 - Holcombe 5s 3
Scorers: Sjoerd 2, Bridges 2, Binns 2, Potter
11 February 2012
Sevenoaks Shadows 5 - HSBC 2
It was a snowy weekend where the venue change to ensure the game could be played. After going from a team of 15 earlier in the week we ended up with 12 arrive at Tonbridge school. The Bank started well and put pressure on shadows throughout the first 20 minutes. The Bank took advantage of their possession and scored 2 quick goals which left Shadows shocked and frustrated. Shortly after Ross' recurring knee injury flared up and we were down to a bare 11.
Shadows took advantage of this and scored and we went into half time 2-1 up though the last 10 minutes had been disappointing, much of the second half was well contested, although Shadows scored after 20 minutes.
At this point fatigue was an issue for the Bank and they had a goal disallowed and a penalty stroke denied.
Shadows then continued to pile the pressure on and their whole team was in the bank half which cramped the defence and opportunities to clear the ball. There was some sloppy ball control which led to some quick goals for Shadows and the game ended 5-2 for the home team.
The Bank will look to turn the last two games around when they face Holcombe next week.
Scorers: Sjoerd 2
4 February 2012
HSBC 2 - Canterbury 5s 7
Scorers: Sjoerd 2
28 January 2012
Univ of Kent 2s 1 - HSBC 4
After a triumphant 3-2 victory over top of the league Gore’s Court last week, we had our work cut out against a younger and apparently attractive (steady Christian) University of Kent 2nds.
We had a shaky start conceding an early short corner. The subsequent play by Kent was a well orchestrated sidestep of the 1st runner (me…opps) and a solid strike past a diving Jacko in the bottom corner. (This was the last ball Jacko (MOM) let near the backboard all game with some fantastic saves to keep us in the game.)
There was an unsettled atmosphere following the first goal but Captain Christian stepped up to rally the troops. We didn’t let our heads drop and soon started to apply some pressure to the Kent defence winning some shorts of our own. Shortly after we put away our first.
Kent responded with some speedy counter attacks and although the defence performed well under the pressure were very relieved to have Jacko as last line of defence. He kept out yet more shots from the Kent attackers.
We continued to struggle with some of our passing however we did maintain the momentum. Monaj, Jack and Sjoerd created a number of chances and put another past the Kent goalkeeper. The third goal came soon after with a great breakaway run from Christian/Menno or Monaj (I think). The ball was crossed from the right hand corner and a disoriented Kent defence were left for dead. This left the crossing ball open for a well placed Bank attacked. Enter stage James Ferguson. Lining up for his first ever 1-on-1 with a trembling keeper he drew his stick back. Fortunately Tom Hargreaves spotted me coming and pre-empted the inevitable miss hit. He courageously dived across the D to sneak a fabulously placed reverse stick under the diving goal keeper to put us two up with the close of the half fast approaching.
The second half was not so fruitful in the goal department and Kent seemed to get a handle on the game for a short time with a number of attacking passages of play. Again Jacko came to the rescue with some great saves. Also a mention for Rob, Swifty, Darren and Dan with some excellent tackles in tentative positions in our D.
I can’t really remember the final goal as I was busy playing for Kent at that stage with a number of optimistic “passes” namely that frightful moment when I returned the ball to our own D where a Kent attacker had placed himself. This rightly qualified me for TFC. (I still maintain that it’s an improvement on last week when I scored Gore’s 2 goal.)
Great score but one of our weaker performances. Move onto next week.
MOM: Jim ‘face of steel” Jackson
TFC: James F
Scorers: Sjeord 2, Hargreaves 2
21 January 2012
HSBC 3 - Gore Court 4s 2
Scorers:
14 January 2012
Bromley & Beckenham 5s 2 - HSBC 2
Scorers: Bridges, Ward
10 December
Maidstone 4s 1 - HSBC 5
With the remembrance of last week’s loss washed away by a long beer pong night, this week we were facing Maidstone - travelling down with good hopes for a strong finish to the season’s first half. And the start was promising an easy afternoon, with Sjoerd finishing the first short corner and putting us in the lead. For no reason whatsoever, or it must have been confusion over the 3-2-2-1-1-1 line up, we got under some pressure of Maidstone, even leading to an equalizer. Not the match we’d hoped for so far…
However, in the 2nd half the 2nd ‘s showed that it is no coincidence we’re fighting for a spot in the top of the league. A strong backhand finish by Tom and a provokingly-slow-but-just-as-effective-finish of a 1on1 with the goalie (good delivery Mark) put us up 3-1. I’m sure it wasn’t any of Potters runs through the middle that led to another short corner, but anyway, Stokesy was quick to hit the rebound high in the goal, giving us a solid 4-1 lead.
As the pitch was freezing over, the heat was still on in the match, as Menno eloquently had a heated debate with a Maidstone player. At that point Jack (thanks mate!) was kind enough to step in between to calm things down. Menno decided to change his stick for an Iron 7 (or arguable a sand wedge) and delivered the ball in the top corner after a strong attack from the right flank, putting the 5-1 final result on the scoreboard.
In the end, strong defence, good play and good finish of the first half, as of January we’ll resume our quest for a top 3 position.
Goals: Sjoerd, Tom Hargraeves (2), Stokesy, Menno
MOM: Tom H.
TFC/Match report: Menno
3 December
HSBC 1 - Folkestone Optimist 4s 2
26 November
Sevenoaks Men’s Acorns 3 - HSBC 4
The second team took the late trip down to Sevenoaks for a 4:30 pushback.The first 20 minutes were outstanding by all with 1 amazing goal from each side. Finally arriving at the pitch I had the misfortune of seeing the next goal fly in between Jacko’s legs. A well managed subs bench saw formation remain strong as subs rolled on and off but the changes in personnel saw an even more aggressive attacking strength come into the HSBC game. As we continued to camp out in Sevenoaks 25 we saw a couple of chance come and go some great saves from their keeper and excellent determination from our mid field and attack to keep pushing 3 goals later we had a comfortable 4-2 lead with 10 minutes left but as time went on the pitch started to become more and more slippery and our defence started to struggle in our final 25. With 5 minutes left the game turned on its head again a weak goal bought Sevenoaks within site of a point and sent us into a bit of a panic, a couple of late tackles and some questionable free hits found us soaking up pressure until the final whistle. Another fine performance by all involved which would have made TFC a difficult decision if not for me being late. The 2's are definitely playing as a team this season and the fight for double promotion could well be on the cards if we can pull off a victory over Folkestone next week.
Scorers: Sjoerd 3, Kershaw 1
TFC: Darren Laws (20 mins late!!)
19 November
HSBC 5 - Old Bordenian 2
Match Report to follow
Scorers: to follow
MOM: Tom Hargreaves
TFC: Christian Kershaw (Toilet hugging?)
12 November
HSBC 4 - Gillingham Anchorians 3s- 0
Some say I was dropped after an impressive display last week by Dan, but with the author nursing a back injury, it was up to Judith Chalmers to adorn the GK kit again. Luckily a late Sjoerd meant we didn’t have the bare 11. Early pressure by the oppo soon awoke the Bank to the fact that this wasn’t going to be as easy as some first thought – league positions count for nothing! With Dan in goal we had a weakened midfield, so our only option was to attack on the break. Matt received the ball on the half way line, and like John Barnes v Brazil he ran un-accosted into the D to shoot and make it 1-0 (p.s. the oppo were nothing like Brazil). With the game resembling Wimbledon going back and forth, it was one of many HSBC forays into the oppos D that led to number 2; like a ballroom dancer Jack duly span 180 degrees make it so. Half time saw Scottish Tom step in for Dan which saw a better 2nd half. Dominance in the 2nd half saw Sjoerd hold up the ball to pick out an excellent pass to the forward running Christian who squared it to waiting Tom who after controlling it knocked it in to make it 3-0. A similar attack saw Jack on the bye line, pass it back to a waiting Menno who promptly despatched it past a wrong footed GA keeper to make it 4-0.
We could’ve had a lot more than 4, but for a good day at the office for the GA GK. A wayward first half was followed by a dominating 2nd which shows it all comes down to availability (cough, I’m back next week), especially at those far away games.
Next week sees a Midday away trip to a seemingly strong Old Bords side, but as I’ve said ‘league positions count for nothing’, it all comes down to who’s available.At time of press, I’m not sure who got MOM, but well done you! and with Martin winning another TFC, perhaps it was the tash? he’s too busy to pen so many match reports, so a 2nd placed me has stepped in to write it, that also means when I have a nightmare game and get the next TFC whoever’s 2nd writes it... mwahhahaha!
Match Report: Jacko
Scoreres: Matt Wise, Jack Harris, Tom Hargreaves, Menno
MOM: James Ferguson
TFC: Stokesy
5 November
Holcombe 5s 1 - HSBC 1
Match Report to follow
Scorer: Tom Hargreaves
MOM:
TFC:
29 October
HSBC 2 - Sevenoaks Shadows 1
Once again the weather turned out to be fantastic for the time of year. The opposition arrived in high spirits and despite HSBC having the push back to start proceedings the home team found themselves pinned back immediately. It was certainly a fairly shaky start, a fact confirmed by the away team converting some pressure into a goal with only a few minutes on the clock, but the Bank side slowly started to find some composure. Upon conceding, the midfield began to work very hard both on and off the ball, and taking the game to Sevenoaks began to apply their own pressure on the visitors. Cracks began to appear in their defence and chances were created, most notably following a driving run from full back by Hutton who struck the ball on the reverse from the edge of the D, and saw it deflect into the goal to level the score. The Bank took this as encouragement to continue the attack, and shortly afterwards Hargreaves slotted home from a short corner to make the half time score 2-1.
The second half proved to be goalless, despite chances at both ends, but the home side did dominate and could well have extended their lead. The midfield continued to prove too strong and the marking was complimented in the bar afterwards by a sporting opposition. All in all the game was played in a very competitive and generally good spirit, and the Bank will look forward to the return game after Christmas.
Scorers:
Own Goal, Tom Hargreaves
MOM:
TFC:
22 October
Canterbury Mens 5s - 1 - HSBC 1
Match report to follow
15 October
HSBC 3 - University of Kent 2s - 2
Match report to follow
Scorers: Menno Binnokamp 1, Dan Bridges 2
MOM: Dan Bridges
TFC: Chrstian Kerswshaw (for the hat and first win as captain)
8 October 2011
Gore Court 4s 7 - HSBC 1
Scorer: Matt Abbett
1 October 2011
HSBC 0 - Bromley & Beckenham 5s - 2
With the weather reaching record temperatures for the time of year, and even though the pre-season had only lasted one week, HSBC 2nd XI took to the pitch with some confidence. The game started well for the hosts with some good possession resulting in some territorial dominance. Keeping the visitors pressed back into their own half for much of the opening twenty minutes they found that the Bromley and Beckenham outfit presented them with few opportunities. HSBC won a short corner but the drag-flicked effort of Matt Abbett was saved on the line. There followed some intensified pressure, and the Bank soon won a penalty flick, although the umpires needed to indulge in a little consultation before it was finally awarded. Up stepped young Abbett again, and pushed it fractionally wide! The away team took heart from this and began to apply some pressure of their own. HSBC fought off their advances but late in the half they managed to open the scoring with a deflected shot that found it’s way into the bottom corner. One nil down…
The half time pep-talk from the new captain seemed to stir up some confidence in the Bank team, and they began the second half with a new found determination. Managing to keep some good possession and continuing to use the bench regularly in the searing mid-afternoon heat that was more reminiscent of July, rather than October, they fought hard to prise apart the Brombecks defence. Some fine work down the flanks, lead to a small number of chances, but unfortunately no goals. As time began to wear on, the Bank gave way to a swift counter attack, and fell another goal behind towards the end of the game. The work rate was however maintained, but sadly to no avail. There were many positives to be drawn from the performance, and some good individual displays, and the team will look to take these into the coming matches.
Match Report: Stokesy
24 September 2011
HSBC 4 - BBHC 3s 5
Scorers:
Tom Hargreaves 2
Tom Hutton 1
Dan Bridges 1
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