Mens 1st XI Match Report
Potters Bar Men's 1st XI v Witham 1st XI
18 February 2012 | by Miles Tomkins
The lead up to this match saw the Potters Bar side plagued by their season-long problem of unavailabilities. No fewer than 9 of the 1st team squad were unavailable for the fixture due to work or jet setting and so the small squad was stretched to its limit. Bar were able to welcome back midfield dynamo Jon Cuff and hand a debut to Dave Messam to cover their outfield worries, but it was in goal, with 4 club keepers unavailable, that Bar were most pushed. In the end, outfield player Andy Stokes donned the kit for the 1st team for the first time. Given that in the previous encounter this season, high flying Witham had scored 4 slick short corners and signed off by promising to teach Potters Bar how to play 'total hockey' in this fixture, he was always going to find himself tested.
From the push back, Bar set out their stall to let Witham have the ball in their own half and wait for mistakes. Witham duly played the ball around nicely but struggled to find the pass that would penetrate the Bar defence. Frustration grew and turnovers started to creep in as players went looking for the wonder ball.
After fifteen minutes, a Witham aerial pass went astray, handing the Bar possession deep in their own half. A quick transfer to the right and neat link up play between the right back and right wing saw forward Mark Turpin released in the corner. He duly drove into the D and, with little in the way of support, he took a leaf from the opposition book and won a short corner.
With short corner guru Ed Whybrow away, the rather agricultural advice was 'just smash it' - Tony Sayers duly obliged, drilling the ball past the Witham keeper, into the bottom left hand corner of the goal. An astute observer was heard to comment that short corners really do win matches!
It wasn't long before the lead doubled as a super through ball saw Sayers and Turpin go through at pace against the Witham sweeper and keeper. A superbly executed one two, left Sayers an easy finish on the back post to double his tally.
Witham regrouped well at this point and upped their own performance, forcing Bar to work hard to keep them at bay. Chris Chittleborough's work rate in front of the back two was outstanding as he put in tackle after tackle and he was well supported by the experienced Charlie Irish and Jon Cuff in the middle. The Bar backline too soaked up a lot of pressure and, in the form of the talented Ray Li at left back, posed a significant threat of their own. Witham's pressure did win them two short corners before half time to put Potters Bar hearts in mouths, but a combination of better defending (executing the defensive strategy perfectly) and a less helpful pitch saw them fail to test the keeper. Andy Stokes was called upon in goal to make an excellent save from open play though, to keep Witham goalless at half time.
The half time team talk focused upon the need to stay disciplined (particularly in the tackle), stay organised and keep doing more of the same. Knowing that they had probably had to work harder than their opposition in the first half, Potters Bar were also warned to expect an onslaught from Witham in the second half.
Sure enough, Witham again upped their tempo as the second half started. Rory Brett and Owen Hughes were both superb in the tackle at the back and they needed to be as Witham started to press forward. Hughes even managed, as the last man, to tackle the Witham forward, drop his stick and then pick it up and recover in time to tackle him again.
Witham's pressure did result in more short corners though and a feeling of inevitability set in. Sure enough the goal came eventually, as the initial short corner move was well saved but the resulting melee saw the ball scrambled into the Bar goal. At 2-1, the game was wide open.
Bar refused to let their heads go down though and they were rewarded shortly afterwards as an excellent run from Cuff saw him go clear on the right hand side before he hit an inch perfect cross between two defenders to Sayers on the back post for him to complete his hat trick.
A minute later the game should have been killed off. The skipper, Ed Newbery, made an enormous overlapping run from right back without being picked up. In almost a replica of the previous goal, he picked out Sayers on the back post with an exceptional cross but Sayers, who had appeared unable to make a mistake up until this point, air shotted when it seemed easier to score.
A relieved Witham redoubled their efforts and Stokes again had to be alert to make an excellent save on his knees as a Witham forward fired in a shot from point blank range. Witham's desire to claw themselves back into the game did leave openings for Bar to exploit though, and twice the Witham keeper had to make good saves when Turpin went through one on one. A good, surging run from Li at left back also drew a save as his cross was deflected goal-wards by Turpin. From a short corner Sayers also flicked narrowly over the crossbar.
Newbery, inspired by Li at left back, also picked a good time to start throwing some huge aerials down the right hand flank, causing further trouble to the Witham defence as Bar looked to see out the game in the opposition half. As the end neared, Mark Turpin (the self-styled promoter of 'flair hockey') decided to upset the supporters by playing a little game in the corner by himself, running the clock down.
The final whistle went shortly afterwards to secure a welcome 3 points, against the odds, for the Bar. The weather and the pitch undoubtedly suited the home side, but ultimately it was a victory earned through a lot of hard work by the whole team.
Final Score: Potters Bar 3 - 1 Witham
Goal Scorers: Tony Sayers (3)
Team: Stokes, Hughes, Brett, Newbery (c), Li, Chittleborough, Cuff, Irish, Tomkins, Sayers, Turpin, Messam
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