Aylesbury 1st XI 2 - 0 Sonning 1st XI

Sonning started their pre-season with a trip to RAF Halton to face a relatively unfamiliar Aylesbury 1st XI. New captain Paul Brown welcomed back former skipper Neil 'Percy' Pursell along with former regulars Tom 'China' Sampson & Jordan Manning, while new 1st XI coach Ali Raza took to the sideline for the first time.

With a couple of players making their first appearances for around 4 years, and with Sonning asked by Raza to play in a slightly higher and unfamiliar press, the away side looked a bit fragile in the first couple of minutes. Aylesbury pounced after Sonning dawdled in possession in the early encounters, with skipper Brown making an uncharacteristic mistake and inviting the Aylesbury forward to a 1-on-1 with Alasdair Allan. Allan may be a decent shot-stopper on a good day, but at times his lack of mobility can be exposed in these situations and he was found wanting rather unsurprisingly on this occasion. 1-0.

Sonning probably panicked a bit following this, and their play was a bit edgy for the next few minutes. They quickly conceded a short corner that was eventually looped over the floundering Allan. Not exactly good looking hockey, but 2-0 with less than a quarter of the match gone nevertheless. From here the game calmed down a bit and Sonning began to edge possession. They moved the ball well and limited Aylesbury's chances in the searing and somewhat surprising heat, but found themselves a bit out of ideas as they hit the opposition circle.

In the second half it remained probably 50-50, with both sides squandering a couple of opportunities but continuing to play decent attacking hockey with all but the finishing touches forthcoming. There were few proper highlights, but the away side can be pleased with the way they worked their way into the game after such a poor start. Sampson in particular seemed to add some bite to the midfield area and grew into his new role as the game unfolded, and although his finishing ultimately let him down on a couple of occasions, Jordan Manning's movement up front was encouraging.

Sonning will feel there is plenty to be worked on in the following weeks, particularly around the final quarter of the pitch, but can be pleased however to have gotten game time to some returning faces and with all players making it through the match without injury. This week they will face Marlow 2nd XI at home on Thursday night, before welcoming Wallingford 1st XI to the Lane on Saturday. Both of whom are sure to represent stern tests.

MOTM: Tom Sampson
DOTD: Neil 'swing-and-a-miss' Pursell (welcome back Skip....)