Durham City M1s 3 - 0 North Shield M1s

Nobody expected this Saturday’s game to go ahead, but, thanks to MC’s microclimate, we were all proved wrong. As a result, our huge squad – fourteen players, Coach Jack, Kiera, and an injured Anth as our physio – turned up and beat struggling North Shields 3-0 beneath a sunny sky.

We dominated the first-half, gradually constricting Shields with quick passes that carved them apart and left them scrambling to get the ball away. Occasionally, they managed to get into our half of the pitch, but only got onto the edge of our ‘D’ once or twice. It took a moment of individual brilliance to put us ahead, however, for we couldn’t manage to convert our chances into a goal despite our dominance. Some neat passing on the left-side of the pitch led to Matt Kettley beating his defender and smashing the ball at hip-height towards the back-post. We’d been making Shields’s good goalie look world-class with our lack of our ruthlessness, but, as Matt’ shot hit the inside of the post and went in, we finally gained our deserved goal. 1-0. The half’s last few minutes were a bit scrappy and we turned the ball over more than we should have, but we ground it out and finished in front.

We probably played worse in the second-half, yet we had far more chances. John, our newest signing, sacrificed a finger in pursuit of three points. None of our six-to-seven short-corners saw us score, nor did we get our second when Steve Kettley’s scrambled poke over the line was ruled out for some reason. It was down to Rob Thomlinson, who predicted that he’d score and made good on his prophecy. From the top of the ‘D,’ he smashed a reverse-stick shot into the bottom corner. Has anybody ever seen a shot be more in the corner? 2-0. Ben Baker, back from injury, made it 3-0 when the oppo gave him too much time. His shot was still rising as it flew into the top corner. Shields had a couple of chances, one of which hit the post, but the closest they came was nearly killing Timmy with a shot after the whistle. Luckily, he raised his arm just in time to stop the ball from smacking into his head. He briefly went off, but came back on in an impressive show of bravery. From there, though, the game only got nastier. A few cards and superb winding-up from us – including a particular zinger from Matt Kettley – led to Shields losing their heads. We did not get dragged into their childish whining, even if our hockey somewhat suffered. At least they can have some time in the league below to cool off before we see them again.

Yet George Sutton won’t see them again. This was The Tank’s last game. He ended it in style and he’ll be sorely missed in Leeds next weekend, which is our final away day of the year.

MoM: Rob Thomlinson (finally scoring)
DoD: Rob Thomlinson (for his comments about his goal)

#PottingVPutin #SoMuchCorner #WhatDoYouDrive?