Luton v LB men's 2XI

Leighton Buzzard Hockey Club 2nd Team 4 - 1 Luton Town Hockey Club 2nd Team

Leighton took to the pitch knowing that they were going to have to play possession hockey in the heat of a balmy September afternoon in Luton. Right from the first whistle Buzzard looked to put pressure onto the opposition and were soon rewarded when Dave Jackson opened his account for the season following a superb reverse pass from Josh Gale. Buzzard continued to try and play 'pass and move' hockey on a very dry and bouncy pitch that could have resulted in the 2s adding to their lead. With all the attacking hockey it left Leighton open to the quick counter attacks from Luton; however David Canty, Craig Westley and Tim Bellamy used their experienced heads to ensure their sights of goal were limited. This resulted in the 2s going into the half time break with a goal advantage.

After getting some much needed water on board along with listening to the northern pearls of wisdom from Ken Mounter, the coach at half time, Buzzard looked to turn the screw at the start of the second half. Some stunning passing hockey resulted and Buzzard went 2-0 up after Josh Gale finished off a move that swept the length of the pitch to record his first goal for the 2nd team. What followed was an onslaught from Luton who forced a series of short corners, only for them to find Match of the Match Jim Galloway pulling off some exceptional saves to maintain the two goal advantage.

Having withstood a significant amount of pressure Buzzard went three up when Dave Jackson got his second after Ben Smith fired across the goal. With this the second team relaxed a bit too much and with Stuart Retford off with a green card, Luton got a goal back following a series of mistakes. This only served to remind Buzzard to maintain their level of performance and the team duly responded with Simon Childs making it 4-1 after a through ball from Jackson.

Special praise should go to younger members of the team who integrated easily into the second team and if Buzzard can build on this performance then the team could be in for a successful season.

By Tim Bellamy