Walcountian Blues at home, Prem - 3 Nov 2007

For the first time this season Purley had a decent sized squad with 14 players, though 5 of those were long sticks, and Dan Afoke was making his first appearance. On the other hand the Blues were missing a couple of players, and called up wily old-timers Justin Baronowski and Ian Ballantine.

Purley started well, and eased into a 2-0 lead before D man Denham Pope stripped the goalie on the clear, and then walked the ball into the net - not sure whether that was just to rub it in, or more likely that new stick head still needs some fine tuning (it would have been very embarrassing to miss an empty net). Purley continued to control the ball, but defensive lapses allowed the Blues to stay closer than they probably should have been, with the score 5-2 at the quarter.

For the next 2 quarters possession was pretty even, with both teams at times having long periods with the ball. But whereas the Purley defence was generally handling the Blues offense pretty well, at the other end the Purple and Gold kept the score ticking over nicely, and some fast ball movement, particularly on the clear, led to some very pretty team goals. Also, for some reason the Blues decided to pressure Graeme Holland throughout the game - a tactic which rather backfired as Graeme had an excellent game with 4 goals and 4 assists.

Purley won both the 2nd and 3rd quarters 4-1, to bring the score to 13-4 at three-quarter time. At that point Purley seemed to have decided the game was already won, and coasted through the final quarter to bring the score to 15-5.

Goals: Graeme Holland 4, Dennis McKenna 4, Jesse O'Hanley 3, Jamie Tasko 2, Matt Payne 1, Denham Pope 1
Ref: Simon Peach

Photos by Steve Cluney.