Deja vu in game four for University

University 1
    Selwyn 6

University’s top team has had a near-identical replay of its first match this season, with a five goal deficit between themselves and Selwyn in the opening weekend of the 2011 Men’s CPL.

Selwyn looked to start the game exactly as they did previously, with a penalty corner ten minutes into the match. International player Hayden Shaw had no trouble adding another goal to his tally, with a high dragflick to the goalkeeper’s right flying past into the net just out of reach.

But their hopes of a repeated runaway victory were temporarily dashed only a few minutes later, when a goalbound ball was stopped on the line by a Selwyn defender’s foot; the goalkeeper was well out and unable to prevent a penalty stroke being awarded. This was easily slotted home to bring the scores level at the first quarter.

From then on, the match was very intense, with dozens of attacks being repulsed and countered against. Of special note was the cohesion of the University men, much in contrast to last week’s loss against Harewood, which allowed passing play to develop through the centre and out wide, and some aggressive ownership of the circle by University’s goalkeeper, who made a handful of charges to pressure the breakaway forwards and hold them out enough for defenders to back him up.

University’s luck couldn’t hold forever though, as further PCs in the 25th and 32nd minutes allowed Shaw to complete his hattrick, with a tight grouping of three shots in the same area of the goal all finding the mark. University rounded out the half with a final attack, not finding any chance to score however.

The second half started much the same as the first as Selwyn looked to increase their lead. Our defenders were up to the task, however, and with the intensity building it was not long before a Selwyn midfielder received a green card for hacking in the 47th minute. The pressure was obvious in the rest of the team too, with several harsh tackles not being penalised much at all.

University eventually lost their calm and confidence as too many heavyhanded tackles left them unabl to dribble a metre without some form of stick clash. Selwyn were able to break through the cautious team and earn several more penalty corners, converting just one more in the 63rd minute, while the forwards made several good runs to score two open shotsin the 60th and 68th minutes, including one that ricocheted down off the crossbar.

The return of Martin Single seemed to have a great influence on the team’s performance and had several excellent comments regarding it after the game, encouraging players to focus on the positive aspects of their play and building upon these rather than working away from the minor negative points of the match.

Like many other parts of the game, the umpiring was overtly similar to week one, with several very bad tackles not being penalised at all and some inconsistencies on the minor points,; control seemed lacking over some sections of the game and especially those with major effect on its turning points. However, besides these quibbles, the general standard was much appreciable compared to previous matches and we look forward to umpires maintaining those areas, while tightening up slightly on the tackling and obstructive parts of the game.

It was good to see more spectators in favour of the University team present on the sidelines. The team would surely prefer more to come along and enjoy their next match on Sunday against Carlton-Redcliffs, who they have already beaten once this season. A change of venue apparently seemed in order, so the match of April 16th will be at Nunweek Hockey Grounds on the recently opened #2 turf, at 3:10pm.

There is an extra incentive this week, as the match is a Shield Challenge, and a win would put us potentially in third place on the table. We hope to see you there!