Bowdon IXs 4 - South Cheshire Vs 4

The Bees arrived at the Devisdale with the ‘Short One' wanting us to capitalise on the previous weeks not so moral win. With the addition of Jonny ‘I'm not a centre-half' Culshaw into the fold for only our second home game of the season we thought we stood a good chance of doing so.

South Cheshire started the game & promptly decided that it was shorter to pass the ball round the Central midfield rather than run round them. Pressure was applied to the Bees defence but they held firm, Lord Grant was ably assisted by his vassals at the back. Even allowing Boy 1st Class R.Smith to get in the way & clear the lines. If memory serves one such action resulted in the ball ending up in the opposition half & Andy ‘Dead Shot' Marshall scoring what he later admitted might not have been a shot but was aimed in the general direction of the goal. The author must admit at this point that he hadn't realised a goal had been scored & so was trying to set everybody up for a 16-yard hit & was then surprised when they retreated all the way to the half way line. This goal seemed to inspire both sides into working harder. At one point in the first half it was a bit disconcerting to see that the South Cheshire defenders were camped on the halfway line. Unfortunately the Bowdon defence were hit by a broadside which led to the half time score line being 1-1.

The tactical switch of moving the aforementioned Mr.Culshaw to his rightful position of right wing paid off straight away with the Bees being using the wing with Jonny C, Yokker & Dead Shot combining to force a short corner. I think this might not have resulted in a goal. I do remember that Jonny C scored 2 goals the pick of which was when he used his turn of pace to stick control to shimmy past the South Cheshire defence & slot the ball home from the top of the D. I know Yokker scored but I don't remember how! After that 15-minute spell you would have thought that the Bees would be able to hold on but we were to be proved wrong. Yet again South Cheshire were inspired by the Bees scoring & not the home side. They pressed the defence but even with wave after wave breaking on the Bees the defence was breached yet again. Maybe we could hold on for a 4-2 win. As South Cheshire attacked yet again they wandered into the D & as your truly was taken out by his own Keeper the forward wandered around us both & slotted the ball into the net as Lord Grant valiantly tried to get in the way 4-3. As the clock ticked down it looked like Bowdon might hold on for a remarkable win, but a lack of concentration by the Bowdon team led to South Cheshire scoring in the last seconds of the game. Final score 4 – 4.

Banber

View from the 'short side'; The Bees played some nice hockey against the toughest side that we have faced in a league game to date. 'Shot dead' Marshall's early goal was a great motivator, & once Mr Culshaw was in a more suitable position (thank you to the ten people who informed me of the requirement for this particlar re-arrangement of the team at half-time! ) things seemed a little easier. It was great to be 4-1 up against a decent side like Sth Cheshire, & although the final score was worthy, it's a crying shame that the Bees lost the game through something as basic as not noticing that the oppo had taken a free hit. This should help us remeber it from now on however!

A good effort all round & esp by the defence who endured some rather prolonged periods of pressure by South Cheshire. Well done all.