Anchorians 1s vs Herne Bay 2s

Boys in blue had enough petrol to travel to Gillingham to take on Anchorians who sat second in the league. The bay who were missing a couple of players also saw their average age drop a little this week turned up in good spirits knowing the game was going to be tough.
Bay lined up in 4-5-1 in order to squeeze the space and restrict Anchorians and try to hit them on the break. For the first half, it worked very well with every player putting in a shift, making tackles, hard-working, and even threatening on the break. New forward Aaron White holding up the ball well and allowing the Bay to counterattack. Anchorians edged the first half and probably should have led at half time but resolute defending and some good keeping meant 0-0 at halftime and the best half of hockey the Bay have played in a while.
The message at halftime was to do the same again and try and nick a goal.

Unfortunately, the second half didn't go as planned, with some strange umpiring decisions and the Bay running out of steam the Bay finally succumbed to pressure and Anchorians went ahead. The Bay had a few chances including an outrageous lofted attempt by Arron White which just wouldn't drop into the top corner. The boys in blue continued to work hard and make tackles but began to run out of steam and Anchorians put the Bay on the sword finishing off with a 5-0 victory.

Paul Duffy did get a little sit down collecting a green card for a tactical foul he had to make, due to Matt Young having a conversation with the umpire instead of defending.
Afterward, the boys in blue could hold their heads up high knowing that they had put in a fantastic effort, hard work, and commitment for the full 70 minutes but had been beaten by the better team. A 5-nil defeat was hard to take but the positives were there for everyone in the team to see.

Mom was a joint award between Tom Rees and myself.

Next week the Bay take on Holcombe at 3.30 at home