LEAGUE HOCKEY
PLASHET HOCKEY CLUB

Plashet Vs University of Essex 1



3 - 4

This weekend saw Plashet travel to Colchester, in the heart of Essex, to face University of Essex first team. The mood was tranquil, and after the events of last week, Plashet were here to regain their focus on the hockey.

Plashet started the game looking very sluggish and half asleep. The passing seemed to be imprecise and the link up play lacked confidence. Plashet still maintained their authority, and surged forward on a few occasions creating a few chances in the first ten minutes of the game. With a few misplaced passes, Plashet soon found themselves trailing by a goal, when Essex scored against the run of play.
Plashet now had to try and recapture their momentum. Still the team with the upper hand, Plashet pushed forward for the equaliser. They did not have to wait too long, as a beautiful ball played through the middle saw Ajaypal Singh break away from his defender, and flick it cleverly over the keeper to level the scores. 1-1 and Plashet were on level terms.

With ten minutes of the half remaining, Essex seemed to pick up their tempo, with quick passing, and very physical challenges. Plashet were being forced back onto their toes, and this pressure paid off for Essex, as a dreadful mistake from the Plashet centre-back presented the Essex striker a clear shot on goal, which he converted with ease. Plashet found themselves trailing once again. The Essex home umpire, who also happened to be an Essex University player, made some very controversial decisions, which lead to Plashet losing their discipline a little. To add to Plashet’s misery, another defensive error saw them fall another goal behind. As the half time whistle went, Plashet knew they had an uphill struggle ahead of them, with the score-line at 3-1.

With nothing but positives to feed on, Plashet came back from the break with only one thing on their mind. The determination was evident, with every player pushing for a goal. Plashet did have to wait a while, but their second goal came eventually with Harpal Singh driving a powerful shot from the D-top. Essex seemed to be shaken, with Plashet holding a lot of the possession and searching for the vital equalising goal. With the pressure mounting, Plashet created their equaliser with some swift movement, and a deadly finish from Inderjeet Singh. 3-3 and Plashet were on level terms again.

Plashet knew they would face some biased umpiring, but Plashet never imagined what was to happen next. With two minutes remaining on the clock, the Essex umpire awarded Essex a penalty flick. The second umpire went across and consulted the Essex umpire over his decision. The Plashet captain also appealed for some sort of justification and reasoning for this decision. The umpire ignored all appeals and the penalty flick stood. The Essex marksman made no mistake, and scored, making the score 4-3.

Plashet heard the final whistle being blown, and the bitter feeling of defeat was in the air. Plashet had lost their first league game. This result however, makes no difference on their position in the league. Plashet remain at the top of the table.