It was a new look M2 team that faced Yateley 2s on a blisteringly hot H1 pitch this afternoon. Debuts for Matthew Harding, Callum Ridley, Dom Falconer and Seb Smith were added to our other fresh faced players from last season to give a young, exciting vibe to the team.
The pre-match chat was focused on keeping it simple and the need to retain possession and make space. We managed to do that for the first quarter and we were unlucky to go a goal down in that period. The second quarter saw us go another goal down after a quick break by Yateley but a goal by James Dale kept us in the game at halftime.
The heat started to get to us and our movement and ball speed started to suffer. Another two goals for Yateley in the third quarter saw our heads go down and we were guilty of giving the ball away cheaply in our own half. The final quarter was much much better with a concerted effort to find space and not concede possession in our own half.
Final score was 1-4 to Yateley. There were lots of positives to take away from the game given that 50% of the team had not played together before. MOM was Seb Smith with nominations also for Dom and Matthew. DOD was jointly won by Toby, for leaving after the 3rd quarter, and James for picking up a green card.