Men’s 4th XI Surrey Open League Division 2

Captain – Chris Vrionides
Vice –  Eddie Lucas Smith

18th Feb v Old Cranleighans 3s (home) W 5-1

Due to a variety of Friday night injuries (falls from ladders and bar stools) the Men’s 4th XI started a home fixture against the Old Cranleighans 3’s a man down but managed to hold out until the interval when a shuffle of the now full complement of eleven men took place and dramatically improved their control of the game. Early in the second half Stuart McIntosh converted Jorden’s initial attempt from a well-earned short corner and this was swiftly followed up by an impressive individual effort from Mike Smith who coolly put the ball under the advancing keeper. As in the first half, the opposition were unable to convert the significant number of chances they created but the caretaker captain’s nerves were jangled when an uncharacteristic, albeit comical flaw by Cliffy was in danger of letting them back into the game. Unperturbed by this, the 4’s continued their onslaught of the OCs defence and the two goal advantage was soon restored by a strike from Chris Ctori. Emboldened by the comfortable lead the forward players then produced some exquisite combination play culminating in a goal for Nathan Reuben and a second for Mike Smith that sealed only the second win of the season for a jubilant 4th XI, all of whom contributed to a sturdy team performance. The boys left the field basking in the unfamiliar warm sensation of victory and now have a week off to reflect before hosting Woking.

04th Feb – Cancelled due to weather

28th Jan v Horley Men’s 1s (away)  L 3-0

The hardest part of the 4th XI’s match this week was finding the 11 players – pretty bold statement considering they were facing top of the league Horley 1’s who are now 9 points clear. So a bit of a rag-tag motley crew of faces made the trip and it’s believed that the 3-0 loss wasn’t a fair score line as although there were some shape problems in the first half, the boys worked their socks off and whilst chances up top were limited they were unlucky not to finish at least one (Editor & Captain in other words missed a sitter!) A great effort all round though with many players out of position.

21st Jan v Barnes Men’s Beavers (home) L 1-3

Wow – what a difference a week makes! After a horrific drubbing at the hands of Surbiton the week before, the 4s found the steel, determination and crucially momentum that had been missing all season. The first 25 minutes was breath taking, a joy to watch and some of the best possession hockey any team has played at this level all season. The triangles in passing would almost make Connie proud but unfortunately the first half ended horribly, with vice-captain Iain losing the plot with a wayward pass for their first goal and then a very quick break for their second that left the defence on the back foot. Just before the half time whistle they then conceded a third because the defence tried to tackle each other such was their determination! The second half though showed what they were made of, picking up exactly as the first half started and running the oppo ragged. 10 minutes in, one of our many short corners was finally converted by a lovely slapped finish by the ‘Doggie Expert’ and then it was all Hawks until the end of the game – if Rhythm had not missed the sitter of the season with 5 minutes to go they might have had a crack at the draw but as it was, the boys left their heads held high. A 3-1 loss but it felt like a massive win compared to the week before after the lovely hockey played throughout.

07th Jan v Oxted Outlaws L 4-2

The hardest thing about the 4’s match on Saturday was finding a team and only at 5.20pm on Friday afternoon did the 11th man crawl from the woodwork. The inevitable (low blow?) 3-1 defeat was actually quite a respectable result considering Oxted are now 7 places higher. 3 first half goals in quick succession kind of stunned the 4’s but after gaining composure and some well worked playing gifting Rhythm a goal, no further balls saw the back of the net, the midfield working hard and Gus The Bus keeping things sensible.