Men’s O35C vs Fish Hoek – 27 April 2024
27 April 2024
Pinelands Vs Fish Hoek (2-2 Draw)
“Winter arrived in Cape Town this weekend, the rain started on Saturday just after the end of the 13:30 game and subsided just before the 16:30 game…. As luck would have it our match was scheduled for a 15:00 start!”
The above is an excerpt from last season’s match report for a fixture played around about the same time of the year…. This year there was a very different weather prospect with Joburg like thunder and tightening in the air for our 13:30 start.
Fortunately the weather moved swiftly past us and the only thunder and lightning was played out on the hockey turf!
Last year’s home fixture against the Fish Hoek Mixed team ended 1-1 and so another tough contest was expected against one of the stronger mixed teams in our Masters O35C Men’s league. We were soon 2-0 down in the first chukka with both goals conceded after a turnover of possession found us wanting in defense. Although post match speculation/concession concluded one of those goals may
have actual been an o.g. Fortunately with no VAR available to ruin the on field action, we shall not speculate any further….
Skipper Ray and Skid rallied the troops at the break and we soon found our rhythm in the 2nd chukka with controlled possession and plenty of action in their D. Stuu, promoted to the centre forward, soon found himself in the right place, the right time and the right position on the P spot to slot in out opening goal with no VAR needed to see us get one back and be 1-2 down at the break.
Some good hockey was played by both sides in the 3rd chukka with Stuu needing to take a rest in the links from the demands of being a centre forward?? With no goals on either side in the 3rd chukka it was down to the wire in the 4th chukka for us try and defend our undefeated start to the winter league.
Following his rest in the links Stuu soon found himself getting the better of their irritating sweeper who needed to revert to some dubious tactics to stop Stuu’s run, resulting in our bench having a Jugen Klopp like response demanding a card from their umpire for the professional foul. Our waves of attack soon paid off with Trevor applying pressure to their goal keeper resulting in the ball landing neatly in front of Mike who for a change found himself in the right place, the right time and the right position on the P spot to slot in the equalizer! With the clock ticking down Trevor had a shot on goal which narrowly missed and was followed by the final whistle. A 2-2 draw was probably a fair result for one of our more competitive fixtures so far this season. Doc Danie Craven’s famous quote “A draw is like kissing your sister” probably suggests our team has a Cinderella sister rather than an ugly sister….
Many thanks to Jarryd for joining us on the field with his whistle in hand, it was also
great to see Dave Melunsky on the side of the field to support the team after
recovery from a ruptured disc and a back op at the end of the last year.
Final match card score: Pinelands 2 – Fish Hoek Mixed 2
Pinelands goal-scorer(s): Stuu, Mike
Player of the Week
Great effort from Stuu, no only scoring the opening goal but also putting his body on
the line and not succumbing to EPL tactics of going down with the slightest of
opposition contact!
Wally of the Week
Their No. 116 sweeper started winging as soon as young Nick started getting some
good runs and passes in after coming off the bench as our No. 14, even before his
body tackle on Stuu.
KPIs
Match niggle-rating: 5/10 – mostly niggle free with the exception of their No. 116
who made Chief from Bellville sound like a choir boy in comparison.
Our Basics: 9/10 – 1st chukka aside this was one of the best team efforts
against strong opposition.
Goal‐scorers Chart – Winter League 2024
Jarryd 3
Callum 2
Trevor 2
Luigi 2
Stuu 2
Skid 1
Tim 1
Hollies 1
Luc 1
Mike 1