LTHC Men’s 4th XI 1 at Loughborough Students 5th XI 3

MRHA T3 – North East 1

Saturday 20th October 2018

For the fourth game of the 18/19 season, Loughborough Town Hockey Club 4th XI had an away fixture against Loughborough Students 5th XI, looking to add another win to their record of a loss, a win and a draw from their previous games.

Town started the game with promise causing issues for the home side on the counter with Jack Harrington creating a couple of early chances with some penetrative runs.  As the half went on, it continued to be a tight affair with Town keeper, Joe Oram, being called into action on a couple of occasions to keep it all square. Just before the break, the students managed to get more numbers forward and scored on the counter to take it into half time at 1–0.

Town came out strong in the second half, again causing some issues for the home team with some good work from James Young, Martin Davies and Phil Cook in the middle of the pitch. It would however be the students who managed to get the second goal of the game after a scrappy goalmouth scramble, 2-0. Town continued to keep their heads high and pressed forwards with Jordan Forbes-Thomas and Adam Heseltine trying to forge some opportunities up top. Town’s efforts eventually paid off after a crashed ball into the D from Town saw Daniel Smith get a deflection to bring it back to 2–1.

The students continued to press and won a penalty corner for their efforts. The strong shot that followed hit James Lamb square on the knee sadly putting him out for the rest of the fixture requiring captain, Chris Featonby, to fill in at centre back.

Town continued to try and push for the equaliser, with Arun Phandey and Alfie Doel putting in some strong runs forward from the half back position. Unfortunately the students managed to break free again on the counter and score the final goal of the game to bring it to 3-1 to Loughborough Students.

It was a good, disciplined performance from Town who, despite the loss, keep their heads held high going into next weeks home game.

Categories: Match Reports