22nd October 2022
Bridgend 1 [5-6] Bristol & West 2
Report by: Oli Nevin
The 2’s made the 58 Mile trip to Bridgend with confidence we could bring back the 3 points and remain unbeaten to start the season.
This confidence was warranted as we quickly took the lead thanks to prolific marksman and 2nd team debutant this season Dan Ott.
Things went from bad to worse for Bridgend as Joe John quickly made it 2-0 with a composed finish.
Bridgend rallied and grabbed one back through a powerful dragflick which left Wayne with no chance. 2-1.
Bristol & West knew the next goal would be crucial in settling the nerves, after some beautiful passing hockey, the ball fell to our goal machine Dan Lusmore who slammed it home to make it 3-1.
Following the goal, we seemed to agree on a strategy of letting them fling balls down the righthand side of the pitch, allowing the attackers to waltz into the D creating numerous chances and short corners, not to mention petulance from certain members of the team arguing with the Umpires adding further misery.
We went into the break disappointingly at 3- 3.
I don’t particularly remember what Josh said to us at half time, but it probably went along the lines of ‘I’m not travelling all this way to lose to this load of %$!&£”. These words combined with the oranges must have done the trick as 3 quick fire goals from Dan “I don’t pass ever” Lusmore provided Bristol & West with an unassailable lead.
At this point, I honestly felt we could go on to score 3 more and drum the welsh like we planned. If only it was that simple.
Looking to maintain the fast start to the second half, our subs were raring to get on and “make an impact” in the words of Charlie Grant. In his exuberance, Charlie sprinted from one side of the pitch to the other in 4 Size 15 strides to clatter the poor defenceless Bridgend midfielder with a swinging reverse stick challenge. Charlie was shown a yellow and trudged back to the bench.
This ignited the flame in the welsh bellies and seemed to cause a meltdown all over the pitch on our part. 6-3 soon became 6-4 thanks to an unfortunate defensive touch by our captain leader legend.
The pressure mounted with wave after wave of Bridgend attacks fortunately culminating in the ball striking the post and rebounding to Nevin. Unfortunately, Oli believed now would be a good time to bring out the trademark spin in his own D which was duly picked by the Bridgend attacker. With Oli staring to the heavens in disbelief, Rob Hazelwood decided to make matters worse by clattering the attacker with what he still believes was a ‘clean tackle’ resulting in a penalty flick which Bridgend dispatched. 6-5…. squeaky bum time.
The remainder of the game was a bit of a blur with Bristol & West doing everything in their power to throw away a second half 3 goal lead. The match finished with a final short corner from Bridgend which Wayne managed to parry round the post leading to scenes of jubilation and relief.
A quick shower in groups of 3 and we headed off to the pub for nostalgic cuisine of cheap sausages and chips.
Whilst there had been a number of options for DOD, once the train gets churning it unfortunately doesn’t stop and I gratefully accepted my fate and span the wheel of misfortune. Seconds later, a karaoke machine was found, and I was rapping Lose Yourself by Eminem.
Thankfully for me and the team as a whole, we didn’t choke, and came back to Bristol with a big 3 points.
MOM: Dan Ott
Goals: Dan Ott, Joe John, Dan Lusmore x4
DOD: Oli Nevin