Morpeth 1st XI v Hild Bede 1st XI.
Result: 2-1 loss
Scorer: Ritchie Brown
M.O.M: Steve Jackson
D.O.D: Ayad Shafiq
Morpeth faced a struggling Hild Bede side with a slightly depleted side of their own in a game which was bound to prove vital for each side.
A youthful and pacey Hild Bede side made the journey up to Morpeth in search of crucial points, and hope to snatch something from their forray up north. Luck would prove to be on their side…at least that’s what I think Umpire’s nickname was!
Hild Bede took the lead early on in the first half with their first short corner of the day. A simple drag flick was excellently dispatched into the corner of the net. That was the students’ first effort on goal and Morpeth were right to feel a little hard done by. But that is why short corners are so important in the game.
The Peth’s defence was a new look outfit for the day, but that wasn’t too much of a hindrance as they dealt well with the vast majority of attacks. Both Gareth Mellor and Gareth Anderson looked very comfortable in their roles, and is their shoes sizes were just a little smaller we would no doubt have conceded about 4 fewer penalth corners!
On the stroke of half time Morpeth drew level when Danecki found himself in space very deep in his own half but launched a ball high and long for Ritchie Brown. The Hild Bede centre back picked the ball out of the air, but only managed to direct it into the path or Brown who dispatched the excellent pass high into the net. 1-1 at the break.
The game was definitely in the balance and could have gone either way towards the team that wanted it more. Hild Bede flew out of the traps in the second half and pressed Morpeth into their 23m area from early on. Sadly the game was decided with a catalogue of errors as the Hild Bede skipper drove the ball well into the D and struck an audacious reverse strike from a very acute angle from the byline. The shot pinged off the far post and off the far sideline for a Morpeth hit whilst the Hild Bede team reeled in dispair at what would have been a fantastic goal. The whistle blew and Morpeth set themselves for the sideline hit only to then realise that the umpires were pointing at centre spot for a goal! The post was still ringing and the Morpeth team seething but somehow the umpires convinced themselves that the ball hit the back board, crossed the goal line and continued off out of the side of the pitch! The scientific team at the CERN Hadron Colider have since been notified that the laws of Physics have been broken for a second time this year and we expect a team of specialists to take away the goal for further testing. Watch this space for further news…
Frantic efforts were put in to try and restore some form of justice and at least rescue a point however it wasn’t to be and the Morpeth side were to be left bitterly disappointed with what was a great first half of competitive hockey and should have continued to be a great, evenly matched contest.
Ritchie Brown put in a great performance which was nicely capped off with a goal, and keeper Steve Jackson showed exactly what he is made of with some superb saves through out the game earning him a hugely well deserved Man of the Match.
