Aldershot & Farnham 4’s    2:1     Salisbury 4’s

Salisbury had to endure the long drive to Aldershot through a deluge of Biblical proportions on Saturday for this league match against the bottom side.  However it all came undone with the unavailability/loss of four experienced mid-fielders from the previous game.

Salisbury’s youngsters tried to fill this gap but were sometimes muscled out of possession in dangerous positions. However the defence played well and Barrett in goal did not see an excessive amount of action. Salisbury at times reverted to “old fashioned” grass hockey with attempts at 60 yard passes, most of which were easily cut out by a well ordered defence. Aldershot went ahead from their second short corner with a strong well placed shot inside the right hand post.

The away side did not create much up front during the first half with the exception of a ball from the right which Garrett pulled just wide of the post and Henry Smith scoring the equaliser. On the right hand side of the pitch Hillier nearly overran the ball over the goal line but just managed to one handedly pull the ball back for Henry Smith to fire into the bottom left corner of the goal. Flashes of skill emanated from Fred Bond and Chris Pearl but all too often there was no final ball.

The second half saw both sides intensify their work rate but overall it was a scrappy game. Salisbury throughout the match gave the ball away far too much with poor passes straight to the Aldershot team or by trying to beat too many players in isolation. Despite the magnificent efforts of Cude and Alison in particular Aldershot took the lead 18 minutes into the second half when Salisbury were found wanting. Barrett saved well form a hard shot but only managed to push the ball to one of the home side’s younger players who reacted first and was able to slide the ball home from a narrow angle from the right of the goal. Henry Smith up front was given too many long balls to chase and despite increasingly frantic efforts from Salisbury they could not find the rhythm nor composure to draw level and a second loss in this seasons league campaign was endured.

MoM: Philip Alison

DoD: David Hillier

Umpire: Howard smith, Alan Garrett

Team: Alastair Barrett, Andy Manders, James Palmer, Paul Cude, David Hillier, Jim Nicholson, Alan Garrett, Chris Pearl, Philip Alison, Fred Bond, Henry Lloyd, Henry Smith, Howard Smith