Well here I am again writing a match report due to what can only be described as “neglect of duty” or possibly “Lack of due diligence to my team mates”. Whilst pondering on how to review this game in the darkness of my mind I recalled minutes from the east hockey AGM of a couple of years ago, I will enlighten you all to it content.
“The league were involved in a number of cases that resulted in disciplinary penalties being given either to a club or to individuals.

• One issue surrounded a club that had made derogatory comments about a number of opposing teams in a newsletter that had appeared in a fanzine that was displayed both on the clubs website and in paper format around the club house. A complaint was received and that club would be starting the season 2012/13 season on -6 points.

• Another issue surrounded an issue where an umpires performance was criticised on twitter, this under the England Hockey Code of Conduct, resulted in playing suspensions

With this in mind the match overview goes something like this.

For the first time in a few weeks Ely had the privilege of actually having a substitute, this was a good start as was the welcome return of Dan in midfield, therefor hopes were high that we could repeat the performance recently against Peterbourgh and turn in a positive result against a lesser team.

The game started in the usual way i.e. on the back foot as it takes us time to warm up, although we made a few forays into the other half of the pitch we eventually succumbed when one opposition player managed to dance around four defenders and allow there unmarked skipper to reverse flick into the corner. (Strange how I always manage to remember the opposition’s goals). From a playing point of view the game seemed to stagnate into a midfield mire, both defences seemed quite secure although Marc Hunt threated occasionally in his “normal way” the end result was again finished in his “normal way” (I will leave it to the readers to work that one out) with no team really looking threatening and likely to score the half drifted to an end.

Boyed by our inspirational skippers half time team talk which included the need for togetherness we ventured into the second half and by enlarge we saw quite an improvement, I think it would be fair to say that we dominated the game without really looking like scoring and Mr Reynolds supplied us with the “in play” moment of the day when in trying to carry out an “Arial” from the side-line managed to play the ball over his head backwards possibly even out of the perimeter fence. A moment worthy of DOD (not). 5 minutes later Tim was safe, as I said earlier I was becoming a virtual spectator due to our dominance, this became a reality when Marc was fouled (again) and I was asked to continue to view the game 90 degrees from my present position!
With this in mind our inspirational skipper decided that as he did not want to put on my stinky kit so we would play without a keeper and then just too really rub my nose in it with 8 minutes to go the buggers scored to make it 1-1. Guilt now etched onto my face I could only watch as after some stirling work from the team defensively St Neots scored to settle the match. With only around a minute remaining I was kindly aloud back on (and nearly got sent off again straight away) to hear Tim ask Neil why he was off the pitch, I thank Neil for his moral support, yellow is his favourite colour as well apparently.

MOM.. Shaun……….. Deserved but dwarfed by other events.

DOD ..Me again, must learn to keep my gob shut. First yellow of my career (25-30 years of playing)

Ian.