Wisbech wisbeaten

A strangely quiet dressing room greeted every member of the KM2s squad who entered for Rocket Payne's obligatory pre-match team talk. However, to absolutely no-one's surprise, Payne's speech was hijacked by Andy Sellers, who had made the wise decision not to travel to Norwich with the KM1s. With no game before them, the KM2s got onto the pitch early and commenced a superb warm up and were more than ready for the must-win match...
Play began and Kettering immediately put Wisbech under the gun with undoubtedly the best hockey they'd played all season. Patience and intensity were perfectly balanced as Kettering spent the majority of their time in the opposition's third. Though no Kettering shots found the back of the net, the resulting Wisbech '16s' were almost always intercepted by the forward line and subsequently leaving Oliver Smith to reliably miss a number of sitters. Whilst the half was almost entirely Kettering, Wisbech did manage a single worryingly dangerous attack. a missed tackle resulted in an overload and all Wisbech had to do was shoot. Luckily, Wisbech hadn't accounted on the commitment of birthday boy Archie Colwill, who marked his newfound maturity at 15 years old by making a crucial last-gasp tackle after sprinting back from the halfway line. Kettering still struggled to win anything at the other end and the half ended at 0 - 0 with the home team having won just one short-corner - which came tantalising close as Adam Duell's shot ricocheted off the inside of the post and out. Kettering weren't disheartened and knew the goals would come, if they could just be the tiniest bit more clinical!
And so the second half began. Before long, the home team resumed their form from the previous half was continued. As soon as Kettering Hockey Club talisman Nathan Thomas arrived to watch the second half, George York scored after an intense scramble. The home team and the home crowd were beside themselves, but the former knew they had to keep their heads to grind out the game. Thus a period of absolutely superb Kettering play began, with an alien swagger taking hold. George York tried a cheeky scoop turn and shot, which forced a good save from the so-far almost faultless Wisbech keeper. Tom Storey even attempted an audacious lob from the edge of the 'D', to the surprise of all, not least his mum, dad and sister watching from the side-lines! It only missed by a couple of inches, but one supporter heard the opposition keeper mutter to his team-mates "he'll be a handful in a couple of years!" - praise indeed as he's quite a handful already. Suddenly, everything changed. Kettering were pressing so high up the pitch, that the Wisbech centre-back sent a looping crash ball straight down the centre and leaving a forward one on one with keeper Matt Coe. Naturally there was only one winner. 1 - 1. Kettering were in agony - they'd truly dominated the game but had slipped up horrifically. Jason Clarke's morning of golf had had a noticeable effect on his finishing, as he drove into the 'D' and pitched his shot straight over the bar. It was agonising. Andy Sellers came back onto the pitch after spending the majority of the half on the bench and his run dragged a Wisbech defender away perfectly, allowing some fast passing play and George York scored again just moments before full time. 2 -1. A wave of relief flooded over KM2s as the final whistle blew. 3 points on the board and a long-missed glad feeling came back to the team. If the team can carry this form over to the rest of the season, they will be a true force to contend with.

MoM: Tom Storey
DoD: Ricky Payne - for setting off the fire alarm 6 times in the club house