On the 4th of February, 2018, the air heavy with anticipation, Marlow's U18 boys took to the chilly Pound Lane pitch to face Bedford in the last 16 of the EH National Cup. Despite setbacks in previous weeks, such as a draw and loss to Sevenoaks and Guildford respectively, the team were in good spirits, well up for the game ahead. And they had good reason, with possibly the best 15 players anyone present had ever seen assembled having (mostly) set their Pitchero availability to green, and (mostly) confirmed selection.

With their warm up completed under the cold, unforgiving gaze of the (mostly) unbeaten despot Kate Porter, both teams took to the field, with the stakes high, higher even than Nick Winter's medical bills, or Max Ellis' academic attainment. A slower than usual start ensued, as Marlow didn't score the now customary two early goals. Nevertheless, the boys in red looked dominant as they began to find their groove. Spectators would be forgiven for believing that the Marlow boys consistently had full attendance at training, such was the organisation of their pressing and marking. As they kept the pressure high, it was inevitable that they would create chances high up the pitch, and eventually they scored the game's opening goal, a classic Jawlian Whitaker through ball neatly converted by captain Greedy Greg.

As Marlow kept probing forwards, they found themselves once again around the Bedford circle. Exceptional vision from Murray Whitaker allowed him to quickly play a free hit, passing to Greedy Greg once again, whose wild reverse stick swing propelled the ball into the goal at an average height with average pace. Nothing special at all, but Marlow had taken their traditional two goal lead, and looked to be on the front foot.

A swift counter attack and some good ball carrying allowed Bedford to get a foothold back into the game, but it wasn't long before Marlow were back up the other end and threatening the Bedford goal. This time it was a penalty corner, and with Tom 'Gareth from The Office' Sheldon stepping up to score a rare drag-flick, Marlow had their two goal lead reinstated.

Bizarrely, Kate Porter had little to say at half time, and 3 bags of Haribos later the boys went back out onto the field, the crowd ready for another 35 minutes of beautiful hockey. And they didn't disappoint, with Cam scoring almost as soon as the umpires had blown to start the half. In previous games this would be when the standards would drop, but the boys kept on passing the ball and playing the liquid hockey which has become synonymous with Marlow U18s. A few notable exceptions to the "passing the ball" bit were Tom 'Sheldo' Sheldon and Charlie 'Thrushy' Thrush. To universal astonishment, Louis 'biggest arms in the team' Cadinouche was passing more than most, although his habit of leathering reverses over the bar from the baseline persisted. Jawnny 'model' Grint, fresh from stealing the show at New York Fashion Week, formed an almost impenetrable partnership with BDN.

It wasn't long before Cam found his way back onto the scoresheet, with another clinical finish from close in. Following this, Nico 'punctual' Cheesman, whose exceptional movement showed no sign of slowing, was fed a pass from Murray 'punctual' Whitaker, and broke forwards into the circle, sending a perfect ball into Hilly, who calmly smashed it into the Bedford goal, making it 6-1 to the home side.

A momentary lapse in concentration from the centre back pairing which were accurately described as almost impenetrable, Bedford found a consolation goal, which predictably flew through Max 'yeah, good from you' Ellis' legs, which was one of the few gaps in the defence.

Josh Hodgkins, fuming about the fact that Louis now has bigger arms than him, had been rampaging forwards throughout the half, but it was only when a sumptuous pass from Selfless Ed whizzed across the baseline and was touched in by Josh, behind his back with the finesse and grace of a ballet dancer. Shortly after this, Selfless Ed was threatening the Bedford goal again, this time with a surprise drag flick, which caught everyone, including him, off guard, but was still markedly better than BDN's.

As the game wound down, with more forward play from the likes of Harvey Fraser and Tom 'dribble at the top of my own circle' Sheldon, Marlow found their 8th of the day, with Greedy Greg sliding in head first to deflect Cam's cross.

This win confirmed the continuation of their undefeated home record, stretching through all 6 games played at home this season, but more importantly confirmed their deserved spot in the top 8 U18 sides in the country.

MOM could have been Josh, and DOD was Max, ending Louis' monopoly of the award.