Operation Desert Storm!

Mens 4's headed off early to Ely for a game against the Ely City HC 3's. Much derision of the captain was made by certain players regarding the early start from the clubhouse. Comments such as " Have you been reading the Neil Manley captaincy handbook?" rang out. However as it turns out with roadworks, road closures and a few getting a tad lost the extra time was benefitial.

Ely are currently having their pitch re-developed and are playing at Ely College. 4's arrived to find the the pitch resembling more of a desert than an astro turf. The pitch was heavily sanded and dunes drifting in the corners. With a strong wind whipping across the pitch, there was a sandblasting effect on any exposed skin. With the unseasonally warm temperatures and blazing sunshine it felt more like Dubai than the Fens. Thankfully despite the amount of sand the pitch played with a good pace and was true with no bobbles and bounces. A marked improvement on their old pitch.

The past few weeks have seen Ely City HC have player availability issues, with the 3's having to concede a couple of games. the most recent being against our own 3's last week. Kettering were confronted with a good sized squad with only a few players that we had seen from the week before. The Kettering team also had some different faces from last week, with the strike force of "Lee Curtis" returning, and star player Ludwig being back after recovering from his leg injury.Alistair also returned to play in goal.

After winning the toss, the captain decided to run into the strong headwind and low sun whilst Kettering were fit and fresh. However at half time they were left to wonder if they had made the right decision.

The first half started, in sloppy fashion with both teams struggling to come to terms with the conditions and playing with new team mates. But in the opening skirmishes Kettering proved to be the stronger, produing the odd bit of good play and creating some clear cut chances. Lee Paris firing wide after being clear in the box. Then both Fraser Cairns and Ben Mayes just failing to get a stick on crosses that fizzed across the box just in front of goal.

As Kettering pressed forward, the defense lost their shape and Ely were able to run straight through and slot home past the despairing dive of Alistair. 1-0 down against the run of play. Kettering continued to move forward with purpose and won a short corner, only for the "put in" to be fluffed wasting the oppurtunity. A further short corner was won but in this occassion Ludwig managed to mishit the ball so that it was cleared easily by the home defense.

Whilst Kettering huffed and puffed in front of the Ely goal, Ely themsleves still proved a threat on the break. The trap was sprung again, this time down the Kettering right. An Ely player received a cross at the top of the D and managed to get the shot away before the recovering defence could make a tackle.

The third goal came in a similar fashion to the first two. The Kettering defense not learning their lessons, allowed Ely to break again in numbers and then pass the ball into the net. Despite, being 3 - 0 down, the Kettering players knew that it could and should have been 3-3 due to the wasting of chances at the other end. Continuing to press forward with a touch more desperation another short corner was won. A golden opportunity to close the gap. The ball was injected with some power and pace for Tony Heath to receive the ball. This caught the Ely defense flat footed, Tony knocked the ball to his right to open up the angle and then powered the ball into the back of the net. A great cheer erupted from the Kettering players. A goal at last, game on.

Last season, being down 3-1 would have resulted in the white flag going up and the team losing more goals.But this team is made of sterner stuff. 4's are a much more determined and resolute team than the 2017/18 version and earning a reputation for being hard to beat. The players at the break all had a confidence that a result could be forced. With words of encouragement from the Captain and some tactical inspiration from seasoned campaigner Nigel Parkes, 4's went out onto the pitch in optimistic mood. With the sun and strong winds at their backs the play appeared to be much crisper and forceful. Players who appeared to be rusty and lethargic in the first half suddenly had more of a spring in their step and the movement improved. The telepathic partnership of Lee and Shaun up front also began to function as previously seen in matches. It was even more pleasing to see moves learned on the training pitch being put into practise.

Chances began to be created, with Kettering forcing the Ely defense into errors. A cross from the right of the D found Shaun Curtis in front of goal in some space. he swept at the ball only to see it bounce back off the foot of the post with the keeper beaten. With the second chance he slammed the ball home. Again, to a cheer of relief. 3- 2 and it was definitely game on.

More sustained pressure, saw Lee Paris slot the ball home from a short corner routine a few minutes later. 3-3 and Kettering could feel that a win was possible. This almost came to pass, with the next attack forcing another short corner. The ball was passed left to Ludwig who shot from the left of the D. The ball slammed into the top right corner of the net with the keeper clutching at empty air. However, the goal was disallowed by the home umpires as being too high and dangerous.

Eventually the 4th goal came with only 8 minutes to go. Tony Heath shot on goal. The ball was heading past the left hand post, but Lee Paris reacted quickly again to deftly re-direct the ball into the goal with a reverse stick. Could Kettering hold on?

Calls for keeping it tight rang out from the defense. For 4 minutes Kettering held on, but after an attack broke down after some blatant stick tackles by the Ely defense went unpunished, the Ely players managed to get a ball away bypassing the Kettering midfield. The defense was stretched out of position and an Ely player broke into the D. In desparation, a recovering defender committed the cardinal sin of a blatant stick tackle when the attacker was in a goal scoring position, the home umpires gave a penalty flick. This was duly despatched despite the best efforts of the 4's keeper.

The flick was the last real action of the game, with both sides holding out for the draw. 4's left Ely with mixed emotions, happy that they had the mental strength and game play to come back from being 3 goals down but dissappointed that with the missed chances in the first half and being in a winning position that they should have won.

Next week, 4's are facing a St Neots Hockey Club in turmoil. A club that has been unable to fulfill most of it's fixtures for their Men's 4th and 5th teams. The 5ths have now dropped out of the league. The St Neots 4ths are still in, so hopefully, a game can be played to allow Kettering 4's to continue to build momentum and rise up the league.