On a crisp Sunday morning, having awaited news of whether the JLD was too frozen to play or not, Derwent played Langwith in this week’s college hockey.
Due to scheduling conflicts, this was Langwith’s first match of the season sporting a new fresher-heavy side. Coming up against a strong Derwent team, Langwith fought hard but were unable to assert their authority on the match.
Derwent’s Ali Walker, Vision’s MOTM, opened the scoring with a well-worked goal after some swift interplay with Phil Hammick.
A second lightning Derwent attack provided Walker with his next goal, bringing the score up to 2-0.
Langwith replied with a goal from Peter Walton, who after good build-up play with Mike Dunnett-Stone, finished well to keep them in the game. Langwith searched for a second, switching the ball quickly between the wings but were rebuffed by a solid Derwent defence.
Minutes before halftime, Walker bagged his hat-trick with a powerful drive into the corner of the goal.
With a halftime score of 3-1 to Derwent, Langwith began the second half determined for a comeback. Within 5 minutes of the pushback, Langwith’s Guy Bennett had possession of the ball, dribbling it into Derwent’s D and slotting it over the line past Derwent’s makeshift keeper Simon Varley, giving Langwith a glimmer of hope.
Despite the narrow lead, Derwent were well on top and soon pulled away with yet another goal from Ali Walker, this time assisted by Anna Cook.
Derwent dominated possession throughout the game with strong links between the midfield players. Captain Jack Bradshaw made some fine interceptions and his accurate passing helped lead Derwent to victory.
In the final stages of the game, a tired Langwith fell victim to yet another Walker goal, capping off a fantastic performance for the Derwent striker.
With the match ending 5-2 to Derwent at the final whistle, the scoreline definitely reflected the performances of both teams. Derwent were easily the stronger team while Langwith were still finding their feet with a new side and with key players missing.
Bradshaw was pleased with the result but stated : “We could have tracked back more in the second half but we have got better with every game we have played this season and hopefully we can keep going and give us a shot [at winning the league].”