WARWICK 2's HOLD THEIR OWN AGAINST MIDLANDS LEAGUE COMPETITION

24/11/07

Warwick 2's 4 @ 12 Staffordshire

On Saturday the seconds team headed up to Staffordshire Uni for their 5th match of the season. The short notice of the fixture meant many of the Warwick players were unable to attend and unfortunately we were left in the situation of having just 9 players in the squad and having to borrow two of Staffs middies to make up the numbers.

The game started with Warwick on the defensive side, but after finding themselves a goal down, Warwick replied with a fast break ending in Delon Tang (3,0) scoring his first of a hatrick. MvP Will Foster kept the game alive by making 7 high quality saves during the quarter, including a one-on-one with their top goal scorer, however Staffs soon regained the lead after a defensive error. Just before half time, another fast break from Warwick ended with Stewart Hulme (0,2) setting up Tang again to end the first quarter on level pegging.

The second quarter began with a hectic 5 minutes of end to end lacrosse. Conditions on the pitch were far from ideal after a morning of rain, leading to many ground ball situations which Warwick came out of on top almost every time. However goals were becoming elusive for the team; Shaun Cregeen (0,0) having a few close shots - one straight into a Staffordshire players ass, rending the long pole ineffective for a good 10 minutes. Shot stopper Will Foster was still denying Staffs of goals, making 6 more saves, unfortunately they managed to sneak two by him during the quarter. In defence solo D-pole Billy Halini showed skill and passion, consistently smashing Staffordshire players to the ground and making countless ground ball pick ups, running the ball up to feed the middies on the break. A goal from our borrowed Staffordshire player Will (1,0) saw the scores at half time Staffs 4 – Warwick 3.

By this time Warwick were feeling the affects of having just one substitute. The first few minutes of the 3rd quarter were ones to forget. Staffs had a good run at winning the faces, and the tiredness and having two borrowed players that haven’t trained with us in defence lead to Staffs putting in 6 goals in as many minutes, leaving Warwick 10-3 down. However a time out and tactic change later and the team was back on form - if its one thing the 2nds are good at, it’s not giving up. Warwick pulled together and a textbook fast break starting in defence meant team captain Cov Chav (0,1) could set up Tang once more, ending the quarter 10-4.

The 4th quarter saw some real resilience from the Warwick side. Warwick chased down every ball and won almost every ground ball, but the tiredness was beginning to show. The middies were finding it increasingly difficult to run up and down the pitch, meaning it was now more important than ever that keeper Foster was on his form, denying Staffordshire by making another 7 professional saves. Warwick kept probing in attack but couldn’t quite find the back of the net, and our pressure in attack and tired legs in midfield meant Staffs created two more goals for themselves before the final whistle

All in all, it was a highly enjoyable match. The Staffordshire team were great opposition and the whole match was played in a good spirit. There were great individual performances from each member of the team. An absence of Warwick’s usual face-off men gave other players an opportunity to show what they could do, notably with Rob Sharpley winning 3 from 6, Cov Chav 2 from 3 and Shaun Cregeen 1 from 2. Ultimately, the lack of our usual long pole D players and the small size of the squad cost us the match, but once again it was a great experience for the team. One small consolation came at the post match boat race. Warwick’s Wednesday night training came in handy as they finished at 4 man boat race as the Staff’s players were still on their second!

Squad

G/K
Will Foster

D
Billy Halini
Cov Chav
Darren Murch

M
Robert Sharpley
Tom Curtis
Will (Staffs)
Andrew (Staffs)

A
Delon Tang
Shaun Cregeen
Stewart Hulme

Season Record (1-4)