After fifteen minutes of the first half, it felt like we were in for a long afternoon. Buckingham’s press was very effective and we were struggling to escape from our 23. When Buckingham regained possession, they always seemed to have a man free in midfield and it was no surprise when they scored one and then a second. We did have some forays into their half as the game went on, but rather than passing the ball to each other, we were trying optimistic smashes that more often than not ending up giving the ball back to Buckingham. All in all, it was a relief to get to half time only 2-0 down.

At half time, skipper Andy made a slight tactical adjustment to flatten our midfield to four across the middle rather than a diamond. This, combined with Buckingham tiring as they had no substitutes, transformed the game. Now, rather than whacking the ball hopefully, it seemed we were passing the ball properly and, dare I say it, playing some nice hockey. Our first goal came from our first short corner of the game. Brian, deliberately he said to open up space on the right, injected to the left of Andy. Andy slipped it right to Charlie who coolly flicked it past the keeper’s left hand into the net. Our second goal was even better, with a quick one-two from a free hit outside the D, releasing Jamie who hit a crisp strike into the goal just above the backboard. We did have the ball in Buckingham’s goal again a couple of minutes before the end, but unfortunately the whistle was blown for a foul just before the ball went in.

After their dominance of the first half, losing the game would have been very harsh on Buckingham, so a draw was probably a fair result.