Reading Wildcats away, Prem - 10 Nov 2007

In the glorious sunshine at the Ibis Club it was Purley who came out all guns blazing, with a completely dominant first quarter performance which saw them 5-0 up at the break. Plenty of possession allowed Purley the time to pick apart the usually stingy Reading defence, and Dennis McKenna showed he had brought his shooting boots today with 2 well taken goals (he ended with a grand total of 7 on the day).

Reading rallied in the second quarter, and scored their first early in a man-up play. They continued to dominate possession, but their attack lacked teeth, and all too frequently their plays ended with a long outside shot which Purley 'keeper Paul Terry dealt with easily. After weathering the storm, Purley scored late in the quarter to take the half time score to 6-1.

The second half saw Purley revert to their first quarter form - 6 goals in the 3rd quarter, and 5 in the last saw Purley coast to a 17-2 win. With the goals spread around most of the midfield and attack, Purley will be very pleased with this performance.

Play of the day had to be in the 3rd quarter when Jamie Tasko held the ball on the outside, jogged around a bit protecting his stick, and suddenly there was a cry of "Goal!". On inspection, the ball was indeed in the net - that sneaky Canuck had surreptitiously passed the ball to Mike Barrett, and while the defence was looking elsewhere all Mike had to do was make sure his shot avoided the 'keeper. It's not often you see the old hidden ball trick work that well.

Goals: Dennis McKenna 7, Matt Payne 2, Graeme Holland 2, Jamie Tasko 2, Mike Barrett 2, Jesse O'Hanley 2
Ref: Steve Jarvis

Photos by Steve Cluney.