Cheam Mens 2s 0 -1 PWs

With scoring as many goals as were scored in the first half of last season buoying morale, and the Cheam keeper having spent the week hobnobbing with Hockey internationals one could be forgiven for rolling up on Saturday morning with great expectations.

It’s said that you can have too much of a good thing. Whether your pleasure is tipple based, a niche lifestyle choice or something a little more illicit, everyone is encouraged to approach in moderation.

A slow and lacklustre warm up saw a slow and lacklustre start.

The Cheam defence were rarely really stretched, yet leaked a short corner. The execution of this matched the level of the game. The ball at the top of the D was mistrapped, and the following strike bobbled its way towards the goal.

Earlier on in the week, the Cheam keeper coached and rubbed shoulders with the top rated goalkeeper in the world, the world’s best drag flicker and numerous other hockey Olympians. He also spent time working with young goalkeepers aspiring to reach the heights of the other coaches.

Despite all this, what followed next was a perfect example to those coached by the Cheam goalkeeper of how not to deal with a short corner.

1- Nil PWs with the ball having nutmegged the goalkeeper at about 5 mph. Less said about that the better.

Cheam produced chance after chance, time after time but forcing the play and an iffy penalty corner conversion rate meant no move in the scoreline at half time.

The second half was much like the first. Cheam dominated every aspect – with a couple of defensive lapses mopped up by the back on form Cheam keeper.

The forward pressure mounted with at least 5 penalty corners going Cheam’s way. There’s some work to be done at training to nail down some reliable routines to make the most of these opportunities.

While there was no change in the score, it was clear that Cheam left everything on the pitch. In the post match debrief, the team were fully spent.

Shep was clearly broken and required consoling and support from his “teammate for life”/girlfriend. It was a beautiful thing. I’m pretty sure people cried.