Maidenhead Monarchs 0-3 Leighton Buzzard 3s

Leighton travelled to Maidenhead knowing that they had to win to stand any hope of promotion. Having won the toss Leighton took the pushback and signalled their intent on such a hot day to play passing hockey. For the first five minutes Leighton passed the ball around probing the Maidenhead defence. This culminating in a goal for Tom who picked the ball up in the 'D' and slotted it into the far corner through a crowd of defenders, 1-0. Maidenhead came back strongly from the restart but the Leighton defence held firm with Ollie and Laurence working well together in the centre and Pete and Liam always available as outlets on the wings. Leighton's tactic of closing Maidenhead down early and forcing them into mistakes was working well. Maidenhead managed some good attacks and in one their player got free at the top of the 'D' and unleashed a fierce shot only to have it deflected by a defenders stick miles over the bar.The Leighton midfield took back control with probing runs from Kane down the left and Tom the right with Dave and Stuart solid in the centre. James and Nick were harrowing the defence and getting off shots only to see their keeper make some great saves. Leighton's second goal came from a great through ball from Liam to Peter, who was on as a sub. Peter's shot rebounded off the keepers pads which allowed James to lift the ball into the net, 2-0. Because of the heat the forwards were subbing on and off regularly and Peter's strength and hold up play helped Leighton to keep possession for the rest of the first half.

For the second half Maidenhead changed their formation and put three up front to try and break the Leighton defence. The defence however held firm and on the few occasions that they did break through Dan was there in goal to make some great saves. Maidenhead's new formation gave Leighton's midfield a bit more space to play their passing game, looking back when needed and spreading the play across the pitch. Half way through the second half the first penalty corner of the match was awarded following an attack by Leighton. Stuart pushed the ball out to Dave who shot towards the lefthand post where Stuart arrived to scramble the ball into the goal past the defenders on the line, 3-0. Believing that they still needed another goal, Leighton kept pressing but the Maidenhead keeper was having none of it. Late in the match Leighton were awarded another penalty corner and tried the same routine but unfortunately Stuart could not get a clean hit on it and the ball went just passed the post. The match ended 3-0 and after a quick check of the league rules it was determined that by dint of having scored more goals Leighton had finished second and secured 'PROMOTION'. Quote of the day was from our spectator "Great game to watch in the sun". It was very hot and everyone gave 100% right to the end, very impressive.

MoM was Ollie Reid