Fun in the Sun

As hockey finally returned to Sheringham, a new look men’s 1st team emerged from their summer slumbers greeting East Coast who only managed to summon a mere 10 men from the corners of Lowestoft.

A bone dry pitch demanded hard work, with a slow moving ball requiring effort and committed passing but North Norfolk sped quickly out the blocks with a goal in the 4th minute. Alex Robinson returning home reminded everyone of just what a frightful menace he can be, with blistering pace only matched by the day’s heat, he cut through challenge after challenge to emerge on the right hand side of the D. A cross to the far post through a crowd of mesmerised ball hungry defenders was met by and already weary Farmer-Wright, who’s dive come belly flop welcomed the first goal and Astro burns of the season.

With an extra man on hand, North Norfolk pressed on to dominate the opening exchanges of the half. Skipper James Hammond and Willem Freeman looked to offer options out wide, whilst a combination of Matt Bowley, Andrew Whitby and John Withers looked assured in the middle. Chances came and went, with the East Coast goalkeeper illustrating some exceptional shot stopping prowess highlighting that additional thought and creativity would be required if the one goal lead was to be extended.

Persistence and understanding paid dividends in the end, North Norfolk gained confidence on the ball and strung series after series of passes together with some fantastic link-up play. Willem’s youth was put to the test by his team mates, as time after time North Norfolk went down the right flank, but he (and his legs and lungs) were up to the challenge and he shone brightly on the opening day. Two further goals came with pressure being heaped within the D, and Farmer-Wright took time to make the shot stopping keeper commit before lifting the ball up and over into the net.

It wasn’t all North Norfolk in the first half though. Long probing balls were dispatched from the back of the East Coast half, in the hope of landing on the end of a forwards stick, but unlike the Indian Chandrayaan-3 did not have much success. Simon Gilbert, Amos Jackson and Tom Culverwell ultimately were there to ensure such missions failed through either exceptional anticipation and desire or purely through some gritty never say die defending. The first half clean sheet was protected by Dale Bartram, who like Flash (more so the cleaning product than Mr Gordon), was able to keep out a hard hit volleyed effort from close range with an unbelievable diving save. You could say “he’s still got it!” or even sing “Flash ooooh-oooh, keeps out the impossible!!”.

Hockey is a game of two halves, and the second demanded a different approach. East Coast looked to sit deeper and protect their goal more tightly, which only served to stretch the pitch further in already demanding and draining conditions. With ample space to gallop into, the returning Whitby was able to make a foray into the oppositions D, and an early deft touch was enough wrong foot , bewilder and beguile the East Coast keeper to make in 4-0 and christen Whitby’s return to hockey with a goal (not the card many punters may have expected at 2/1).

With the extra space, and the persistent heat of the sun, the game became more frenzied. It was only the experience of Glenn Marvell-James who showed true composure in the heat of the moment, showing brilliant ball control and the ability to pick the right pass at the right time, which rightly gained the plaudits and recognition of a MoM type performance.

East Coast were able to bag a goal and deny North Norfolk a clean sheet, whether it be lack of water or simply knowledge of rules, when a free hit from outside the 23 was pumped into the D Simon declared foul play as adamantly as a lawyer wrongly protesting the innocence of someone who has been caught red-handed. With the defence left head scratching and dazed, East Coast were able to take advantage of the lapse in concentration. Protests were held in vein, and Chris Isbell was able to dust off his yellow card which he brandished with glee.

North Norfolk were able to add a 5th goal to complete the day’s win and collect the first 3 valuable points of the season.

A good start from the men’s 1st team with a convincing win on paper, but not convincing enough for the skipper to get carried away just yet. Some nice play highlighted, and plenty of improvement points to work on, North Norfolk move onto a tricky and undesirable away trip to Felixstowe where it may be them that travel with 10-men.

Watch this space, this could be an interesting season.