Sidmouth and Ottery Hockey Club (SOHC) men’s fourth team came a cropper when they entertained South East Two table-toppers Taunton Vale D at Sidmouth.
The bulk of the damage was done during a one-sided first half that saw the table-topping side score at regular intervals with some incisive passing, swift running and clinical finishing.
It was not all one-way in the first half, but all too often SOHC, who enjoyed some good periods of possession, conceded it all too easily! It all meant that, at the halfway stage of the contest, SOHC trailed 6-0. During the half-time interval home skipper Dan Weedon opted to switch to a 4/4/2 formation and, despite shipping three more goals, there was much greater cohesion to the SOHC play. The defensive side of the home performance was much improved and they were able to get forward more and put pressure on the visitors' goal.
Indeed, they won a short corner from which Nigel Dupain netted with a shot from the edge of the area. This was always going to be a tough ask for the SOHC men's fourth team, but a huge plus for all concerned was the way they played throughout the second half against a very sharp opposition team.
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