SONNING 3 - 1 CITY OF OXFORD
10th November 2007

Sonning were riding high after pulverising A & C the previous week, but a trip to Oxford gave the best looking team in the best looking club in Berkshire, a new challenge.

The game started very differently to the previous week with Sonning being forced immediately onto the back foot. City were a quick, agile team, familiar with the slippery surface and were ready to turn their recent run of bad form around and pull off a coup by picking up points against second (equal) placed Sonning. However, a solid defensive platform built around "on form" Fordy held strong and punished the intruders for their incursion into the "D". Building from this robust and experienced platform, penetrating advances were strung together by the Sonning midfield, eventually ending in the first goal of the match coming from dead eye dick, Mr Grant Strudley.

After that Sonning began to relax and enjoy the hockey, the game was ours to win. Oxford however, still looked a strong side and posed a serious threat. As the half time whistle went, Sonning wished that their late short corner had been converted to consolidate their lead.

Half time 1-0, and in the absence of "old man" Handford, Pricey led the half time talk ... enough said, (it's never enough when Matt takes the stage) but he did stress how important the opening few minutes would be.

If the first half was entertaining the next was fantastic......................

And so heeding Stand-in-Skip's warning, Sonning banded together at the start of the second 35 and Matt himself pounded another goal past the stationary Oxford defence. With a two goal lead Sonning were suitably comfortable and the play began to show this. A number of adventurous Sonning moves left the City defence cursing their midfield, but still they held out.

The flow of play was not all one way by any means, and we were harshly reminded of this fact when a clever move from Oxford resulted in them stealing a goal from under our noses (thievery at its best) leaving a glimmer of hope for them to cling to.

Alas for them (but to our credit) at the end of the match there was just enough time for young stud(ent) Andy P to take advantage of a defensive blunder and hammer the final nail in the Oxford coffin.

Final result 3-1

Goal Scorers: Grant S, Matt P & Andy P
Man of the Match: Goes to Fordy for an inspired defensive role that stopped all attacks that came his way
Dick of the Day: Match reporter Craig Handford, for not being able to nominate a DoD! His response, thanks Dad!

CH