Phil’s Perfect Performance Proves Pivotal in Preston
By Bin
An 8-2 victory was a good end to the day, however things were not always quite so bright in gloomy Preston as the 1st Team made their last Saturday Away Day of the year. With a strong-looking squad only deserted by a few members of the club, like DynaLAD, missing due to being free from the chains that have kept him under wraps for the past 3 years.
Arriving at the UCLAN Sports Arena was not a foreign place to this team; having wiped the floor with the landowners only a few weeks prior, they arrived in high spirits. With the disappointment of being presented with UCLAN’s second pitch, something which is more akin to a child’s sandbox than it is to a hockey pitch, they knew it was going to be a very scrappy match.
The boys started quickly with Preston offering about as much resistance as the French in response to the Nazi’s Blitzkrieg, we quickly had a few pop shots and some mazy dribbling and passing around the Preston D. Alas, this showcase of superior skill gave the team their first chance, with Mincey waiting to unleash his flick. Things did not always go to plan, with the injection unfortunately going out to Jack at second castle, who shook some of the old men and placed it gently into the goal. A second finish was soon gobbled up by Max after being put through to score in an open net.
However, Preston soon made a comeback, with their version of Mincey hitting a reverse straight through Gus’s legs, somewhat to the amazement of the other 21 players on the pitch. Parity was soon restored with Max tucking away another and a sweeping hat-trick from Pete, desperate to get back to another MUN debate. The midfield began to find their stride although Sesh-Penney was looking weary – most probably after another night of ragging his future flatmate.
Half-time came and one could have cut the tension with a knife even though the score sat at 6-1. Seemingly, the game was very much out of reach for Preston and Lancaster’s intensity was at the level of lying on a float in a swimming pool. Impetus not really required, but another statement win would be a nice addition to an already ballooning goal difference.
The second half began somewhat slowly, with Lancaster having little impetus and the attacking unit as a whole having somewhat lower intensity than they did originally in the first half, we appeared to have ‘lost our mojo’ with Preston scoring again with the most perplexing of finishes. Gaston appeared to have stopped the shot with his stick but the power was too much and the ball bobbled into the back of the net at the slowest of paces. This gave Preston another lift and they then pressed us further, at this point looking like the team on top.
This newfound confidence quickly diminished with Mincey making a brave deflected goal off Alvaro’s rapid reverse and then Max’s calmly slotted finish really put the icing on the cake. Further displays of lightning fast 3-D skills and slick passing from Drylan showed the swiss army knife as his true colours – he is, after all, the most skilled and versatile of players. Talent like that shows why we are pushing for promotion going into the last match day.
The defence were somewhat untroubled for most of the afternoon, however the player from the defence that shone through was Phil, who maybe didn’t have a splash play per say, but didn’t seem to put a foot wrong all day. This solidity really allowed the attack to play a far more relaxed match in the end. This was an imperfect victory, one could compare that to Dynamo’s victories this past week, but the boys did the job and they march on.
An 8-2 victory was a good end to the day, however things were not always quite so bright in gloomy Preston as the 1st Team made their last Saturday Away Day of the year. With a strong-looking squad only deserted by a few members of the club, like DynaLAD, missing due to being free from the chains that have kept him under wraps for the past 3 years.
Arriving at the UCLAN Sports Arena was not a foreign place to this team; having wiped the floor with the landowners only a few weeks prior, they arrived in high spirits. With the disappointment of being presented with UCLAN’s second pitch, something which is more akin to a child’s sandbox than it is to a hockey pitch, they knew it was going to be a very scrappy match.
The boys started quickly with Preston offering about as much resistance as the French in response to the Nazi’s Blitzkrieg, we quickly had a few pop shots and some mazy dribbling and passing around the Preston D. Alas, this showcase of superior skill gave the team their first chance, with Mincey waiting to unleash his flick. Things did not always go to plan, with the injection unfortunately going out to Jack at second castle, who shook some of the old men and placed it gently into the goal. A second finish was soon gobbled up by Max after being put through to score in an open net.
However, Preston soon made a comeback, with their version of Mincey hitting a reverse straight through Gus’s legs, somewhat to the amazement of the other 21 players on the pitch. Parity was soon restored with Max tucking away another and a sweeping hat-trick from Pete, desperate to get back to another MUN debate. The midfield began to find their stride although Sesh-Penney was looking weary – most probably after another night of ragging his future flatmate.
Half-time came and one could have cut the tension with a knife even though the score sat at 6-1. Seemingly, the game was very much out of reach for Preston and Lancaster’s intensity was at the level of lying on a float in a swimming pool. Impetus not really required, but another statement win would be a nice addition to an already ballooning goal difference.
The second half began somewhat slowly, with Lancaster having little impetus and the attacking unit as a whole having somewhat lower intensity than they did originally in the first half, we appeared to have ‘lost our mojo’ with Preston scoring again with the most perplexing of finishes. Gaston appeared to have stopped the shot with his stick but the power was too much and the ball bobbled into the back of the net at the slowest of paces. This gave Preston another lift and they then pressed us further, at this point looking like the team on top.
This newfound confidence quickly diminished with Mincey making a brave deflected goal off Alvaro’s rapid reverse and then Max’s calmly slotted finish really put the icing on the cake. Further displays of lightning fast 3-D skills and slick passing from Drylan showed the swiss army knife as his true colours – he is, after all, the most skilled and versatile of players. Talent like that shows why we are pushing for promotion going into the last match day.
The defence were somewhat untroubled for most of the afternoon, however the player from the defence that shone through was Phil, who maybe didn’t have a splash play per say, but didn’t seem to put a foot wrong all day. This solidity really allowed the attack to play a far more relaxed match in the end. This was an imperfect victory, one could compare that to Dynamo’s victories this past week, but the boys did the job and they march on.