1/11/14: Mendip survived yet another enthralling match in their league campaign as they conquered Westbury by the narrowest of margins.
The home side took the game to Mendip in the opening 10 minutes or so and applied extreme pressure with some scintillating skillful hockey that tested the defensive unit to the full. However, Mendip were disciplined enough to get behind the ball in numbers and manfully stood up to the onslaught, making tackle after tackle to keep the marauding horde at bay.
As time went on with the deadlock unbroken, Mendip gradually eased their way into the match and they started to move the ball around with more confidence, but with the midfield being so compact and with the pace of the match being so frenetic it was difficult to build with any real measure and their play was largely fragmented.
With the match very much in the balance and with barely a quarter gone Mendip lost their defensive talisman as centre back Giles Denning limped off, but after a hasty reshuffle of positions the visitors rolled up their sleeves and set about the task in hand with man-of-the-match Paul Floyd taking over command and marshalling the troops with calm assurance.
Mendip matched their opposition with a fierce determination and resilience but towards the end of the half they faced a number of short corners as Westbury sought to press home their advantage. However, Leigh Taylor refused to be beaten and to Mendip’s relief half time came with his goal unbreached.
After regrouping during the break Mendip came out in the 2nd half and tried to play some expansive hockey, with Liam Young and Oli Beechener providing the outlet down the wings, but despite having a level of success in making definite headway into the opposition half and forcing the odd foul in and around the D, scoring chances were rare and the respite was short lived before the next wave of Westbury attack ensued.
The home side had 2 or 3 very skillful and tricky players who were relentless at running straight to the heart of the Mendip defence and it took all the experience and guile of Andy Flint and Paul Floyd to keep them at arm’s length, but when Toby Green made a rash challenge in the D the job was made even more difficult with only 10 men during his mandatory spell in the ‘sin bin’ and the versatile centre forward Steve Smith was forced to drop deeper and deeper to cover the overrun midfield.
As the match progressed towards its crescendo Westbury threw everything in their arsenal at Mendip but the recalcitrant rearguard refused to yield and with the entire home team throwing caution to the wind and pressing forward, when the play broke down, a long clearance from Flint found Dan Packer unmarked and showing incredible deftness for such a big man, he guided the ball into the path of Liam who completely wrong footed the keeper to prod home a truly valuable goal and snatch victory from the stunned hosts.
At the finish Mendip were completely spent and could not have given any more. To a man they showed a real team spirit and each one played his part in a monumental result. However, the captain’s accolade goes to James Lovell who tackled his heart out and had an outstanding match at left back.
Next week is a top of the table clash against Weston-Super-Mare at Norton Hill School.
The Team was: Leigh Taylor, Andy Flint, Giles Denning, Paul Floyd, James Lovell, Oli Beechener, Josh Sutton, Will Lawton, Liam Young, Steve Smith, Dan Packer and Toby Green.
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