Good time to be selling sticks in Cambridge.

It’s funny what a crowd does. Cambridge Ladies 2s decided to forego tea after their game against our Ladies 1s to cheers on their Mens 3s.

It’s a funny old league. Kettering probably have the optimum average age of a hockey team. It is unfortunately made up of several 50 plussers and lots of under 16s. Camb Uni 3s were, as one would imagine all 18 - 21 and primed for action.

With Coe Snr having rushed back from helping the 1s grab a point at Cambridge South he was immediately thrown into a colossal twenty minutes backs to the wall performance where Kettering managed to survive a Camb Uni onslaught. However no score.
Point of order here. You really don’t need to cheer a short corner when you win one. This is Div 3NW. Give your heads a wobble. Or is that trying to impress the watching ladies??
Anyway, from a short corner a student went to smash the ball extremely wide but unfortunately it took a cruel deflection off Ollie Smith and the dam had been broken. A half decent half volley made the score 2-0 at the break but Kettering had ruffled a few feathers and on another day might have scored.
With the youth learning how to play a game at high intensity and the old boys trying to remember how to play a game at that intensity and being able to still move on Wednesday the second half commenced. An early couple of goals made it four but Kettering dug in and, it must be said, with some somewhat crude tackling that resulted in Smith, Craig Scott and Haydn Young all spending time contemplating their mis timed tackles Kettering managed to keep it at four. Young Joe Campbell also went for not retreating.

Who learned the most. Probably us. Our youth will benefit seeing a team play with a bit of pace, or pacy pace as Mr Hawkins described it.

From the student’s perspective I suppose a wins a win but it was a lower 2:2/ pass performance rather than a first class honours drubbing.

Onwards and upwards assuming the old boys can move by next Saturday where have the luxury of a 2:30 home start.