20/2/16: Despite some indifferent results, since the turn of the year Mendip have been playing exceptionally well & on Saturday their excellent form culminated in a hugely important win against promotion contenders WSM. The hosts set their stall out from the start and immediately went on the attack but the Mendip defensive unit was impeccable and anything inside the 23m area was comfortably dealt with as the majestic Giles Denning led by example & snuffed out any threat with cool assurance. The Mendip midfield worked extremely hard to close down as both sides sought to wrestle control and gain the ascendancy in the early combative tussle but the Mendip quartet more than held their own & as the game settled down both sides started to play some attractive expansive hockey in a free flowing contest. Liam Young had a particularly good game using his devastating pace to make progress down the left and was influential in many a Mendip move going forward and although the front two of Steve Smith & John Lippiatt were alive to any half chances in & around the D the Weston defence stood firm & the deadlock remained unbroken. Mid way through the half and with the match finely poised a Mendip defender misjudged the trajectory of an aerial ball in the extreme blustery conditions and Weston took full advantage as they ran down the loose ball and scored the opening goal with a 2-on-1, giving Leigh Taylor no chance. With both sets of defences having the upper hand, goal scoring chances were few & far between but James England kept Mendip in the hunt when he popped up on his own goal line to clear whilst at the other end Liam created a golden opportunity to level but unselfishly tried to feed Steve when a shot on goal was perhaps the better option. As the half progressed the hosts started to turn the screw & forced a number of short corners. They were very well drilled at the set pieces but Mendip were up to the challenge & managed to clear their lines on each occasion to go into the break 1-0 down. The visitors came out in the 2nd half full of belief. Will Holmes gradually started to get more into the game & was always available as an outlet on the wide right while the creative trio of Messrs Sutton, Lawton & Briscoe danced their way through the midfield, evading many a tackle to move forward with purpose and Mendip eventually equalised when a swift passing move released Liam into acres of space. The youngster was unceremoniously upended in the D & Steve was clinical in converting the Penalty Stroke. The match was very evenly contested and ebbed and flowed as both sides sought to get the all-important next goal. Unfortunate for Mendip that goal went Weston’s way when they were awarded a short corner and this time the Mendip defence was beaten when a powerful shot was perfectly placed & drilled low into the corner leaving the visitors fearing the worst. However one thing that Mendip do not lack is a fighting spirit & with less than a quarter of the match remaining they were back on level terms from their own short corner as the ball was switched back to Lawton who was afforded the time & space at the far post to flick high into the net. The last 10 minutes or so were frenetic with Mendip showing a steely resolve not to relinquish their hard fought point but in the last minute of the match they were awarded a short corner & following a manic goal mouth scramble Lippiatt forced the ball over the line from a yard out to steal the 3-2 win. The whole team was magnificent and the work rate throughout the entire match was tireless but man-of-the-match ultimately went to Rich Briscoe who hassled & harried in the centre of the park and took the game to the opposition at every opportunity with his strong dribbling runs & keen distribution.
The team was: Leigh Taylor, Andy Flint (Capt.), Giles Denning, James England, James Lovell, Liam Young, Rich Briscoe, Will Lawton, Josh Sutton, Will Holmes, Steve Smith & John Lippiatt.
Mendip men’s hockey is sponsored by CassidyGregory Electrical Contractors Ltd.
Comments are closed.