1st April 2023
Whitchurch 2 [3-4] Bristol & West 2
Report by Josh De Witt
Bristol & West Men’s 2s secured 4th spot in West 2 at National Hockey Centre in Wales against Whitchurch.
Despite late Whitchurch pressure Bristol & West saw the game out and ended a strong finish to the 2023 campaign.
West found themselves 1-0 down after a weak pass by De Witt resulted in an opportunity to Whitchurch opening their account.
Rallying back immediately West put the pressure on, and Luz slotted a neat finish on his reverse to draw the game level.
Not content with one reverse goal, Luz doubled up to put the visitors 2-1 up.
Whitchurch were tenacious and kept finding gaps, as lapse Bristol marking led to a few 1v1s which Wayne excellently dealt with.
Some great interplay by Bristol resulted in a short corner. The ball was played into Luz who threw the ball goalwards. The keeper’s smart work to get down to save the initial shot was undone by Fat Mish who snuck in to put West 2 goals to the good.
Whitchurch rallied back and with a smart short corner routine got themselves back into the game, tucking away at the back post.
Oli Nevin fought hard to gain control in the middle and made some smart tackles, and controlled things nicely from the bass of midfield.
Despite his best efforts pressure was growing on Bristol.
But Charlie Goliath Grant took matters into his own hands turning on a sixpence and slotting past the ailing Whitchurch keeper.
Whitchurch fought back again, and won successive short corners as Bristol’s defensive desperately fought to keep the ball out.
It wasn’t to last, as a flying drag flick beat the team to make it 4-3 and to make the dying moments interesting.
West’s game management saw the game draw to a close. Fantastic effort and a great result from the men’s 2s who finish one place better than last year.
Man of the Match: Oli Nevin
DOD: Josh De Witt
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