Marlow 040 6 v 5 A&C 040

Sunday 13th November 2016

A well observed minute's silence in respect of Armistice Day was the preclude to an 11 goal thriller at Great Marlow School.

In a crazy 15 minutes, Marlow scored first, Greg Causer finishing in style in the first 5 minutes. It was the inspiration for A&C to wake up and show their pace and skill, firstly equalising into the top corner, then over-running the Marlow defence and midfield twice more to lead 3-1. In between the goals Marlow had also made enough chances, it could have been 3-3 after 15 minutes.

After 25 minutes it was 3-3! Marlow pressed forward and after a goalmouth scramble Frosty was the fox in the box to tap in. Ben Horan was then inspired to run the full length of the pitch to put the ball on a plate for Bernard Tyler to add the equaliser. It was a long stroll back for Beno, probably his first end to end run for 20 years, welcome to O40's!!Ho

Just before half time Marlow gained an advantage off the field, the tardy Gareth Murfitt turned up to strengthen the midfield and Angus Jones at request of fellow chuckle brother Trevor Jackson arrived. Before Angus could get on the pitch Marlow had gone 4-3 up, and a minute later A&C had levelled.

4-4 at half time. The crowd turning up at Pound Lane had surely gone to the wrong venue for entertainment today, what have the Men's 1's to give when the Masters can score the same number of goals in half a match!!

However, the 2nd half started in controversy. "Yellow-ball-gate" meant our BCQA umpires asked for a yellow ball! We had a chewed up old dog's toy, the 2 balls on the pitch scenario ended in 2 orange balls being rolled on, and finally we got to start the 2nd half! The extra 5 minute rest served Marlow well, the "to me, to you" routine from Angus and Trev resulted in Greg scoring his hat-trick from a neat short corner move, and shortly after it was time for goal-line assistance. As the A&C goalie lay prone on the floor Trev picked up the ball and flicked it into the net, Greg applying the touch on the line, the commentators said it was a Causer goal but technology was on the side of Jackson. Anyway, who cares - Marlow 6, A&C 4 with 15 minutes left.

So, a stroll in the park for Marlow with 15 minutes to go. 2 up, time to miss a hatful of chances, and time to let A&C break and score. 6-5. There was even last minute drama - a short corner at the final whistle gave A&C the chance to take the game to penalties. Saved and cleared and on to the last 16!!

For anyone who has read this far and not lost the will to live, here's the results for R3, draw to follow Monday

http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/competitions.asp?section=204&sectionTitle=Men%27s+Masters+Over+40%27s+Trophy