Mens 1s Go Top!

Saints vs Westleigh.

First vs Second. A game that may potentially define the season. Westleigh were away from home and looking to gain all three points, to put themselves in the driving seat to crown themselves champions. The game started poorly from Westleigh, as they failed to win the possession battle with the Saints, and gain dominance over the opposition. Without possession, Westleigh looked lackluster with constant turnovers. It added nothing to the Westleigh attack that the right hand side failed to get into the game as Chadwick seemingly couldn’t buy a first touch, or a second. So without possession, or a sniff of their goal, Westleigh began to hold on, and try to make any semblance of a chance that they could. Fleming looked somewhat creative, as he began to play around the fullback. Smith had a couple of chances to play someone in behind, however the final pass was never really there. After 20 minutes of no concrete chances and scrappy play, the Saints finally lashed one into the back of the net to the delight of the home side. A quality strike and one that had caught the away side napping, as nobody marked the no.8 after a swiftly taken free hit. 1-0 down and without a concrete chance Westleigh were forced to knuckle down, and with the press finally being organised, Westleigh pounced to grab a quick reply. Many will say it was lucky but Westleigh didn’t care. Murphy latched onto a sloppy pass and finished from an acute angle to make it 1-1 and consequently, all was level in what had been an end to end game. Soon after the raucous celebration had come to an end, Westleigh were once again making chances with one of the most prominent chances being a missed by Milsom-Hughes, who still continues his search for a goal. They call Hockey a game of two halves, that was certainly true for Westleigh, as they came out in the second half a different team, beginning to make plentiful chances off of the right. Credit cannot solely be given to any one player in the second half, despite Sibson’s best efforts as he well and truly locked down the midfield, credit should instead be given to the Westleigh press as Saints were forced into playing crash balls through the middle, meaning that no real chance could be made. It would take a quarter of the second half before Westleigh would make their dominance count for anything. The decisive goal would be a Fleming one, a recurring theme this season, as he effortlessly finished a penalty flick. It was no simple task for Westleigh though, as Saints had numerous chances and defended stoically, but a ball off the line via a foot would cause the whistle to go and a penalty flick to be awarded. Once ahead, Westleigh managed to hold on with some antics from Fleming to attempt to delay the game and a cohesive set-up from all involved. Westleigh now sit top of the table after a hard fought win between two teams vying for top spot.

FT Northampton Saints 1 : Leicester Westleigh 2.

MOTM: Sibson
DOTD: Chadwick