M1 4-3 City of Peterborough Mens 4

On a fine, spring-like day which was more or less perfect for hockey, South recovered much of their equilibrium after last week's sobering reverse at the hands of Ely. Peterborough provided stiff opposition, however, just as they had done pre-Christmas, and it was a roller-coaster ride for players and spectators alike as an open and entertaining game yielded thrills aplenty.

South started smoothly, benefiting from a little more time and space than seven days previously, and some cool possession hockey gave skipper Chris Baker an early chance which he chided himself for not burying. He was nevertheless at the hub of several disciplined moves involving Al Sinclair and Rob Garrett and, together with the wide-ranging Matt Readman, he enabled South to gain early control over the midfield.

An unaccountable attack of the collywobbles suddenly set in, however, and Peterborough seized their chance. After Steve Parker had just saved a defensive deflection, the hosts banged the ball in from outside the D and found a man unmarked two yards out, who first-timed it in for a 1-0 lead on nine minutes. A reversed cross then left the South defence standing and Parker had to kick a free shot away to his right before, moments later, getting down well to thwart Peterborough's first short corner. Chris Graveling's clearance bought only temporary respite, however, as the hosts won a second short from which the strike narrowly evaded the right-hand post.

Though Russell Johnson unfeasibly chased down a long ball in the right corner, South remained as nervous as a fluffy pink rabbit and a porous-looking defence missed its tackles, leaving a man on the spot to hit just wide with time on his side. Peterborough repeatedly opened up a Bermuda Triangle on the South side of the twenty-five, squaring the ball to unmarked attackers powering forward, and Parker again had to blunt a well-struck shot as help inexplicably dematerialised.

The pace slackened but, after Baker had given the compass a good shake, South eventually began to reorientate themselves and better control led to promising forays by Richard Morgan, Baker and Johnson up one channel and Baker, Garrett and the ebullient Keith Hewitt up another. Further assistance from Johnson set up Sinclair, who forced the home keeper to stick the ball away for a long corner.

A failed clearance gave South their first short, which resulted in a shot and a follow-up, both blocked on the ground, and the keeper was quickly smelling the turf again as South's pace up the left allowed Hewitt and Johnson to get in at the business end. No-one could lift the ball the necessary eighteen inches or so on this occasion but, after a further positive passage of play in which Baker, Sinclair, Garrett and Readman were multiply prominent, Sinclair's drive in gave Hewitt the opportunity to atone for an earlier miss by flicking in off the underside of the bar for a deserved equaliser.

South then spoiled the good work by handing the ball on a plate to a pair of strikers just inside the D and one of these unleashed a cannon of a shot which Parker flew to his right to block superbly. Unfortunately, the ricochet fell handily for the home side and the resulting tap-in, with South's defence remote, swung the pendulum once more. The disaster of a two-goal deficit loomed as Peterborough once more found unmarked space inside the circle but Parker, with the odds stacked against him, closed the shooter down and diverted the ball away to safety.

Escaping from this potential black hole, Nick Young funnelled the ball up to Hewitt, who rampaged up the left wing like an emu on heat, winning a long corner from which the always direct and determined Alex Pooles fed Baker right in the slot. The skipper made no mistake this time, beating the keeper off an outstretched blocker hand to level the scores after thirty minutes.

Both sides created openings in the last five minutes before the interval, with South vacillating over a short corner, Peterborough drawing a fine glove save from Parker which Young was on hand to clear, and Johnson squaring the ball across with the keeper down, only to see a home defender intercept at the last moment. Pooles and Sinclair again breached the Peterborough D, allowing Readman to demonstrate his burgeoning attacking propensities with a nicely-weighted flick which the keeper did well to glove away. The half ended with Baker chasing back hard to dispossess the Peterborough winger before reminding the troops in no uncertain terms that the match was very much in the balance.

First blood after the break went to South after they had won several key battles through sheer force of will. Graveling was at the heart of matters, halting an advance round the byline, making a critical interception and then putting up a none-too-shabby aerial which ultimately led to a strong burst into the circle from Johnson and a second goal, this time from a very narrow angle, from a delighted Hewitt. Hewitt was then seen to advantage in defence, extricating himself from a maze of Peterborough players with some nifty stickwork, before Baker stubbornly rode three heavy tackles to release Johnson, who again tormented the hosts' back line with his deceptive pace.

Hewitt had a golden – no, platinum – opportunity for his hat-trick when a GPS-guided pass up the right from Morgan found an unmarked Readman, who consummately cut out the keeper and served up the perfect assist. But the goalposts somewhat unfairly moved five metres to the right at the last minute, leaving an anguished Hewitt to put the ball into the back fence with clinical precision.

Peterborough almost seemed galvanised by this narrow squeak and it needed strong commitment from Baker, intercepting and tackling hard, and Readman, who hounded a man into touch, to keep South on top. Graveling and Young nervelessly swept the ball upfield but the home side returned and, after Morgan had made an initial clearance, South got caught in possession with the law breathing down their necks and, from the resulting short, Peterborough made it 3-3 as the ball was jinked past two defenders and fired home via a defensive stick.

Hewitt immediately broke forward but was blanked off, sensibly opting to shuttle back to Young, who put in a super cross-field pass to Johnson which almost split the defence. A five-man move involving Young, Readman and Morgan, who got the ball through to Garrett and then Johnson, augured well for South but Peterborough kept men high, stretching the visiting defence, and a big hit upfield found a lone attacker with time to spare. Taking the ball right, he made across the top of the D but Parker, seeing the danger early, matched him stride for stride and timed the challenge perfectly, blocking enough of the shot for the retreating Young to clear.

In the next slice of action, Leo Tomita heroically held up a pair of forwards when marooned in no-man's-land and prevented a direct shot. Reassessing swiftly and spotting Parker hovering close, Peterborough then tried a lob which would have just slipped in under the bar but the South keeper anticipated astutely and went full astern to bat the ball parabolically out of harm's way with his blocker.

After a fourth short where Hewitt got one shot in and a second was blocked, South played some good tic-tac hockey before again succumbing to a long ball which a marked attacker in the D managed to control. Under close attention, he manoeuvred successfully and made room for a hard flick, which to South's relief hit the outside of the post.

Almost immediately, South hit back to take the decisive advantage, with Pooles again finding space on the left and cracking the ball into the circle, where Hewitt had timed his run to perfection so that he was able to produce a carbon copy of the hosts' opening goal. With fifteen minutes to go, though, nothing was certain and there was always a risk that Peterborough, with their forwards well up, would create further opportunities. This they did after fifty-nine minutes when, after Readman had pivoted neatly out of trouble, a break set a man free at the top left of the circle, but Parker was again was well-positioned to make a big save, with Young clearing. Garrett and Pooles tackled fiercely before Baker, whose speed and accuracy of distribution in the second half were top class, again set up Pooles and Readman to feed Johnson, who was braked at the last moment by a decisive tackle.

As the tension ramped up, Peterborough shot past the post, then had three attempts at goal before firing wide as Parker put the frighteners on. Then it was South's turn as Johnson expertly pulled back a ball from the byline to Baker, who nearly converted. Garrett, tackling back with interest, almost put the icing on the cake with a good reverse which the keeper sticked away, while Sinclair, receiving a ball from the all-action Baker, was caught slightly off balance and shot wide. Play switched again, with Peterborough surging into the circle despite stout resistance from Morgan; two swift shots slid past the left post and there was a strong element of fast-forward as both sides struggled to tip the scales.

Sinclair and Readman earned cautionary words from the umpires for some politely philosophical observations to no-one in particular and, as the match entered the final five minutes, last man Tomita brought off a crucial tackle on a Peterborough lurker, winning the ball firmly and snagging the attacker's stick with his own for good measure.

The home side kept digging but South were determined not to give it away, grimly redoubling their efforts in a fine display of teamwork. Garrett worked his socks off, executing a reverse block and two thudding tackles, while Hewitt continued to rampage and Baker, Readman, Young and Graveling all held on grittily under pressure to secure a turnaround victory which reflected a snappier and more organised second-half performance.

This was an important win for South after some post-Christmas disappointments and means that they are now fifth in the table. Two sides below South would leapfrog them if they won their outstanding games but only seven points separate the seven teams in third to ninth positions. In the fixtures to come, continuity, cohesion and the type of determination seen in this game will be essential if South are to break clear of the pack chasing Ely and March. A challenging series of matches which will test the side's resolve and organisation to the full lies ahead.

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Keith Hewitt
Player of the Match