Match Report: Cheam 2nd XI 1-0 Cheam 3rd XI

By Chris Blackmore

As dawn broke on a soggy Saturday in mid-September, the sleepy hockey-groundhog awoke from its summer slumber, and arose from the shelter of its underground nest. Bleary-eyed and a bit groggy, its appearance marked the start of a new season, and unlike the hit Bill Murray film involving the famous rodent, this season was not going to be the same old story. Cheam 3rd XI were facing more changes than Henry VIII’s bedroom quarters, and everyone was waiting to find out who would be the ‘Anne of Cleves’ and get dropped like it was hot.

But this was not the case, as the new 3s proved themselves to be an industrious and disciplined group, putting in such extreme shifts that they would even make Jeremy Hunt blush. Although the result was not to swing in our favour, losing narrowly 1-0 to Cheam’s 2nd XI, many positives could be taken from a game that was hard-fought by both sides.

Due to the sheer unknown entity that is the new 3s, all expectations were conservative, with some 2s players suggesting a swap of players would see a much more competitive match. However, immediately from push-back, the 3s managed to fend off an early wave of attacks, and began to settle into the game. New signings Alex Trambath and Taylor Felton showed promise with some nice passing that created many moves down the left, whilst the more recognisable names of Sohail, Molly and Jonny (Please stay, #Jonny2016) kept the 2s chances down to a minimum at our end. Whilst the game was admittedly scrappy in parts, the interchangeable front line of Ruben, Sammy and Derry managed to fashion a string of good chances during the middle-third of the match, with Sammy going close twice and narrowly missing out both times (they say practice makes perfect, but with his questionable attendance record at training, maybe Sammy doesn’t listen…).

However, my nomination for MOTM must go to the impressive-as-ever Blossom, for producing a flurry of outstanding saves that kept the team going, and nearly earned the 3s a draw. As for myself, I’ll hold my hands up and take this week’s TFC. Who knew that moving house and driving relatives to the airport on the same day as the first match of the season would result in organising the team-sheet and formation just five minutes from push-back…? Amateur.