Weekend Report No 12 

 

1s 1 V 0 Olton & West Warwicks 

Cannock Men's 1st Team faced Olton & West Warwick in their second meeting in a week, with a home fixture and looking to finish positively before the Xmas break and the start of the indoor hockey season.  
 
Cannock, supported by Match Day Sponsors from "The Hibbs Lupus Trust" were looking to avenge the 6-2 defeat they were condemned to by second placed Olton only seven days previously. Cannock had a secret weapon this week when they were boosted by the appearance of Cannock's Olympic legend James Fair who came out of semi-retirement to tend goal in the absence of regular Mike Gerrard.  
 
The game started quickly with Cannock playing some smart hockey by winning an early short corner. Chris Beck's effort was saved by former Cannock keeper Will Burns. Inspired by Fair ,who was in fine form for the hosts, Cannock gave a great account of themselves, breaking on several occasions and it was the final break of the half that proved crucial in this tight and tense game of hockey.  
 
Callum Swinnerton carried the ball out of midfield but was deliberately hacked down inside the final 25. Eventually the umpires made the right decision which was to award Cannock a short corner but more importantly giving the Olton player a 10min yellow. Cannock and Beck's second effort from a short was thwarted. At half time the scores remained level at 0-0. 
 
Cannock began the second half with the extra man and minutes into the half neat play down the left from captain Harry Jawanda saw the ball get played across the face of goal. Despite Burns' efforts the first stick to reach the ball proved to be that of Cannock's Will Fleet who put the hosts 1-0 up!  
 
With plenty of time left in the game Cannock now had something to hold onto. With Fair a rock at the back and every single man running harder than ever, Cannock held out for a massive three points to take them out of the bottom two going into the Christmas break. There are now four teams all within two points of each other with just eight games left when the league restarts in February.  
A great day for everyone involved at Cannock HC. 

 
MoM James Fair 

Sponsor MoM Chris Beck 

DoD Dan Jowett 

2s 2 V 2 Olton & West Warwicks 

After a slow start Cannock 2nds found themselves two nil down at half time. The second half looked like starting in the same way until Cannock pressure from the restart produced an opportunity for Tom Minall to find the net. As Cannock fought to get back in the game they were dealt a blow when Olton were awarded a penalty stroke. However Cannock Keeper Conner Beardsmore was up for the challenge and acrobatically saved the flick. This was the turning point in the game.  Tom Minall popped up again to score his second goal to add to his hat trick last week. The game ended in draw 2-2 but could have been won if a last minute 1-on-1 with the keeper had been converted. 
 

MoM D Gladwin 

DoD Danny Swinnerton-Ions 

3s 2 V 2 Beeston 

Cannock's 3rd Team welcomed forth placed, arch-rivals Beeston to Chase Park looking to build on last weeks success at Olton & West Warwick.  
 
Cannock started brightly with both Callum Warren and Ollie Southall making in-roads. A young Beeston side also had chances, but keeper Ollie Balcombe made some smart stops. Half way through the first half Alex Hill saw his effort saved from a well worked short corner, only for Beeston to go down the other end and score after some poor defending from the hosts.  
 
Cannock were rattled by this and lost grip on the game. Just before half time Hill slotted a ball to Ed Martin inside the circle who turned and clinically scored to bring the game level.  
 
The second half saw Cannock regain their grip on the game and took the lead with Alex Hill deflecting an Issac Spooner drag flick through the keepers legs. As full time approached the Beeston extra subs saw them maintain the pace of the game as the hosts struggled to get out their half. Mistakes were increasing and eventually Beeston pounced and brought the game back level to 2-2. Another point for 'draw specialists' saw Cannock climb to 8th place and increased the gap to five points away from the relegation zone. Next week Cannock continue their quest to climb the league table as they travel to 10th placed Harborne.  
 
Thanks to Cameron Horn and Callum Swinnerton for umpiring the game and thank you to James Hudson and Ben Hampton for umpiring the 5ths victory over Shrewsbury before their own match. 

DoD Luke Davies 

MoM Callum Warren 

4s 5 V 8 Beeston 

Cannock 4's needed a win from their trip to Beeston, but they always knew it was going to be tough. Cannock started really strong and went 2 goals ahead within 10 mins. This lead was short lived however as Beeston capitalised on poor defending to equalise. They then went 4-2 up to leave Cannock reeling. The visitors rallied however and pulled a goal back. The goals kept flowing for both teams but Beeston came out on top with the final score 8-5. 

MoM Tony Blower 

DoD JD & Wiggy 

5s 7 V 4 Shrewsbury 

Cannock 5s began their mid table tussle with a Shrewsbury side who were level on points but ahead with a marginally better goal difference. Both sides had a bare 11 players but Cannock were faced with an additional adversary -the Demon Drink. 5 of Cannock's starting 11 were nursing severe hangovers. Sweeper Karl Owen arrived at the death and was still strapping on his shin pads when the game began. His first touch of the ball was to smash a 16 yard hit into the testicles of a Shrewsbury player. Eventually the game settled down and Cannock were awarded a penalty corner which was neatly deflected on by Jonny Machin for the lead. It wasn't long before a second penalty corner was smashed in by Jamie  Roberts for his first goal as a #properhockeyplayer, despite pulling a hamstring in the opening minutes of the game. 
Cannock held on, dealing with a resurgent Shrewsbury side and finding the Cannock keeper ,Rufus Horn, in fine form. Eventually however, the visitors scrambled in a penalty corner deflection of their own to make the score 2-1. 
Despite the nausea and alcohol coursing through their veins, Cannock worked hard and found the the net twice more through the reverse stick of Machin. 
Half time found the home side 4-1 ahead and in positive mood at the team talk.  
Soon after the break, Machin found the net again for his fourth goal of the game. Shrewsbury mounted a  series of counterattacks and pounced on alcohol-induced errors to pull 2 back to make the score 5-3. Machin finished well for his 5th goal to restore the Cannock lead.  However, Karl Owen attempted to dribble the ball out of the D football style but kicked it straight to a Shrewsbury player who promptly netted to make it 6-4. The game wasn't over yet, with Cannock finding goal-hanger-in-chief Paulio Martin  who struck home to make the game safe. 
The 7-4 score line flattered the visitors but complacency by the 5ths let Shresbury back into the game. 
This was a legendary performance, with 5 hangovers, 2 pulled hamstrings, a "lower-back"  injury and a smashed knee all needing to be overcome. This was definitely a game for #properhockeyplayers.  
 
MoM: Johnny Machin  
DoD: Karl Owen 
 
Fathoms 2 V 0 Tamworth 

Cannock Fathoms side, containing a mix of senior men's players, juniors and ladies 4th team players enjoyed a late afternoon away match against Tamworth. Cannock Fathoms had the luxury of five substitutes throughout the match, although most players had already played a game, so were relieved they didn't have to play a full game. 
 
From the start Cannock took the game to Tamworth creating a number of chances which tested the Tamworth keeper. Luckily Cannock's Kicking Back, Andy Hoare, had very little to do due to the excellent protection provided by Halyley Jones and son Josh Jones. The Jones's made it a family affair, with Gary orchestrating midfield and young Henry playing right wing. Given the amount of possession that Cannock had, Cannock were only able to convert one of their many chances to finish the first half 1-0 up. 
 
Tamworth pressed harder in the second half, and with Cannock starting to tire, a number of half chances were created, but Tamworth were unable to take advantage of them. Cannock continued to play good hockey at times and it was following a period of sustained pressure that Cannock went 2-0 up. Although Tamworth tried to respond, Cannock held on for a well deserved win. 

Badgers 1 V 1 Buxton 

Cannock Badgers had the long journey to a cold and misty Buxton this week. Playing in front of a very partisan home crowd, and against a team that was slight older, Cannock started well, containing the game in midfield and creating a number of early chances. There was a very noticeable difference in styles with Cannock prepared to build their play, whilst Buxton played a more direct approach; both approaches were effective, but good defending from both teams saw the half finish even at 0-0. 
 
The second half started as the first finished. Urged on by their home support Buxton started to work harder and the midfield tussles became very competitive as Cannock refused to be intimidated. Cannock's persistence was rewarded half way through the second half with a well composed finished from Sam Cattell to beat the Buxton Keeper to put Cannock 1-0 ahead. The goal spurred Buxton on with the game, now being played mainly in the Cannock half. Cannock's defence held firm until about 10 minutes from the end of the match when Buxton found a way past Joe Thomas, the Cannock keeper. 
 
Following the equaliser the game became extremely competitive with some ill-discipline and poor decision making on both sides, resulting in the game being stopped 5 minutes before time to ensure everyone remained calm and able to reflect on a good competitive contest. Final score 1-1.