Lancaster Seconds 6 – 0 Lancaster Thirds
- Photo by Aradhya Gupta
The Lancaster men’s Seconds’ hockey team scored a crushing 6-0 victory over the Lancaster thirds this past Wednesday in a much-anticipated derby game.
Two goals from Prem Marwaha and goals from Ben Keeble, Ed Fenton, Aaron Merchant and Tom Stiven saw the Seconds jump to second in the league but with Manchester Fourths close on their heels and with a game in hand. Defeat for the Thirds, however, leaves them rock bottom of the table and still looking for their first win of the season.
Some loose passing, shaky defence and an inability to get out of their own half plagued the Thirds as the Seconds dominated the opening stages of the game.
A shot at goal by Thirds captain Matt Hanson outside the ‘D’ represented the team’s inability to construct an effective attack, whilst surging run from Guy Paul took the Seconds into the Thirds’ danger zone. A short corner which was won in the same attack fell to Ben Keeble who opened the scoring in the 11th minute after flicking in Prem Marwaha’s attempt on goal.
A spell of great passing and movement rewarded the Seconds with a series of corners, the closest of which involved an attempt having to be cleared off the line.
Some outstanding work and good pace by the Seconds’ attacker Guy Paul looked to spark further woe for the Thirds until his run and resulting shot was saved by keeper Frazer Stewart.
It did not take long however for the Seconds to get their second goal of the match. After floating through a crowd of players from the cross, the ball eventually found its way to Ed Fenton who tapped in on the 30th minute mark.
The Thirds looked desperately for a response forcing a scramble in the Seconds’ ‘D’ with only the final touch missing.
The fightback looked short-lived however and not long before half time, the Seconds looked like they were about to score again, the attempt coming once more from talisman Guy Paul. A fantastic touch from Paul managed to deceive the Thirds’ defence and set the attacker through on goal, his attempt from a harsh angle flew wide of the post.
The Thirds began the second half putting up a strong defence with the Seconds looking less dominant than they had towards the end of the first half. This was short lived however when a through ball found Prem Marwaha whose powerful shot bounced off the back-board to bring the scores to 3-0.
The third goal marked the beginning of an attacking frenzy for the Seconds with an attempt by Killian Koffi being saved by Frazer Stewart and the follow-up shot having to be stopped on the line by a desperate Thirds defence.
Two further goals from Aaron Marchant after a short corner and Tom Stiven with a fantastic mid air volleyed shot brought the score to 5-0 with ten minutes left of play.
Prem Marwaha rounded off the scoring with his second and arguably the best goal of the game as he flicked up the ball and smashed it in from just inside the ‘D’.
The final score finished 6-0 to the Seconds with a last-gasp save from Stewart denying the winning team their seventh goal.
Despite their poor standing in the league table, there can be no doubt that the Thirds showed promising signs in the match especially in the first half where the defence managed to concede only two goals to the aggressive Seconds attack. Poor passing proved to be a major problem with the ball being given away cheaply on far too many occasions.
The Seconds on the other hand proved far more comfortable in their passing and movement and showed pace and clinical finishing in attack. With their next two league fixtures against league leaders the University of Salford and third placed the University of Manchester, a win over both teams will give them a great opportunity at winning the league this year.
