Men's 1st XI Vs University of Exeter 6

This weekend saw the welcome return of league hockey, having not played a league since 2020 Caradon Mens 1st XI were chomping at the bit to get a game under their belt. Unfortunately the first game back was away to Exeter University and their legion of young fit players, where as the Caradon squad was lacking numbers and looking a little round at the edges.

After a rather sedate warm up the whistle blew and the game was underway, however Caradon found themselves on the front foot, hemming the university team in their own third, with long and risky balls the home team managed to make a few ventures into the Cornish territory before being force on the defensive again. On a quick turn over Caradon managed to exploit the space behind the defensive line, the young keeper made up his mind to try and tackle out side of the ‘D’ but with a quick movement of the ball the goal keeper was in no mans land and had no choice but to foul the Caradon captain earning himself a 5 minute time out in the sin bin. The resulting short corner lead to a penally flick after the ball struck a defender on the line. Martin Batty stepped up to the spot and ‘clinically’ despatched the flick. With the keeper off the pitch Caradon tried to press for a second goal, but the Exeter team rallied and defended their key areas stopping the onslaught buying the time they needed for the keeper to return.

With the return of their keeper the Exeter dens I’ve breathed a sigh of relief and went back to business as usual, but this left bigger gaps between players and with the net of Caradon cast over the defensive it was only a matter of time before they made a mistake. Then it happened, a loose pass across the face of the goal added to the keeper’s woes, with Chris Fasey closing in he tried to clear ball away from his line, getting it caught up in his feet the ball spat out onto the weighing stick of the captain who ungracefully shovelled it over the line giving the Cornish team a 2 goal lead.

Now Exeter were on the back foot and started to pass the ball and move off the ball at a higher tempo, with youth and numbers on their side holes started to appear in the Caradon midfield and defensive lines. Exeter had a number of half attempts which were shut down by Dan Harris in goal and efforts of the defence forcing them to shoot from tight angles. After sustaining a period of pressure the halftime whistle blew much to the relief of the Caradon squad.

Somewhat refreshed both teams took back to the pitch, Caradon continued to play their game, pressing hard and asking the midfield and defence to clear up any mess that got through. As the game wore on Caradon began to lag, the high tempo from the younger side started to open up holes, despite the tireless efforts of Finn Andrews and Matt Bell in the middle of the pitch. The rolling subs of a larger squad and fresher legs finally broke clear of their markers and finished a well worked opportunity bringing the home team back within touching distance.

Despite the monument being with Exeter and the lack of game practise Caradon dig deep, contesting for the ball in all areas of the pitch, a good challenge in defence saw that ball fired out to the halfway line, coming back to meet it Chris, turned and dropped the ball into the left channel for Finn, who drove to the base line, the Caradon team sprung into action, giving options in the ‘D’ but Finn found Chris again as he entered the top of the scoring area, taking a touch he slotted the ball back past the scrambling defence into the side netting retaking Caradon’s 2 goal lead.

With 10 minutes left to play Caradon did every thing they could to secure the win, playing simple hockey and not giving possession away in key areas, with not much left to give against what seemed like an endless stream of substitutions the Cornish team heard the final whistle and took three points from the first game of the season with a 3-1 win. Next week the 1st XI play Torbay, at Lux Park, in what will be a very tough game.