Men's 3s start their league campaign with a win

Broxbourne 3s vs Southgate 3A’s, 14:30 push back

Final score - Broxbourne 2 Southgate 3A’s 0

Broxbourne 3s returned to play their first league game of the season in front of a capacity crowd. The first drama of the day occurred before the game was even underway. Having struggled with player availability for the whole week, Mark Degaute (Digger) inexplicably contacted the skipper 7 minutes before the push back time to say he was now available and on his way to the pitch.

Once the match started it turned out to be a tightly contested affair. Broxbourne started the stronger and their early pressure produced the first goal after about 15 minutes. Following a bouncing ball into the D, Scott Weedon managed to have a strike which was saved by the Southgate goalkeeper. Hayden Adams pounced on the rebound like a vulture and slotted home.

After taking the lead, Broxbourne surrendered the early possession they were enjoying and went on the back foot. Many Broxbourne passes were misplaced. Southgate were pressing for a equaliser but the Badgers managed to hold on to their 1-0 lead up to halftime.

The second half continued in the same vein. The Badgers were becoming visibly frustrated and this was demonstrated further when James Cranfield was green carded for petulantly hitting the ball away in disgust.

Both teams created some chances but none of them were taken for most of the second half. Broxbourne were forced to defend for sustained periods, and an honourable mention should go to Pod in goal who made a couple of good saves and two sweeping charges off his line to clear the danger. The goalkeeper has just returned to action following a 12 month sabbatical.

With approximately 5 minutes of the match left, Broxbourne were on the attack and a goalmouth scramble ensued. This resulted in KP misplacing a flick to the wide right of the goal. Youngster Bobby Dyer retained the loose ball and pushed a shot back into the goal with a tidy finish. This put Broxbourne 2-0 up with only a few minutes of the match to go.

The 2 goal cushion provided a welcome relief and Broxbourne managed to finish the game keeping a clean sheet and winning 2-0. The back line of Pod, Trev Mellor, Stu Kopsis and Rich Mellor/Digger will be delighted that they managed to earn their hefty clean sheet bonus.

Following the long break in hockey, it was great to get back playing in the league again whilst picking up the 3 points. The performance was far from polished, but it gives the 3s something to build on when they return for another home game next week.

Team - Dan Podmore (GK), Rich Mellor, Trev Mellor, Stu Kopsis, James Cranfield, Dan Hopson, Scott Weedon (Captain), Hayden Adams, Rhys Wyman (Geezer), Bobby Dyer, Kris Prentice, Lee Richards, Mark Degaute (Digger)