Tavistock Pumas 1 Wants 2 WITH a couple of key players missing from the line up and Tavistock mixed hockey team, the Pumas, never really playing with any set formation during the whole game, it was going to be tough. Both teams were fighting for possession and although Tavistock defence were quick to mark players out of the game, the midfield and forwards could not seem to break through the opposition. James Pitts gave some good calls in goal and allowed Tavistock players to create width on the pitch in order to draw the opposition away from the ?D?. Dom Lovett played well although he struggled to link with the other forward play of Judy Miller and Laura Armstrong. With Jo Gaspar and Robynne Honey playing through midfield positions, the forwards did lack that speed from Honey and strength from Gaspar. Chris Wilson worked determinedly through the middle and made some good tackles and interceptions. Despite working hard, Tavistock were making life difficult for themselves which was a result of no set team play, not passing the ball to free players and not switching the ball from left to right. Fiona Dunn marked up a couple of key players looming around the ?D? but there were still huge gaps in the middle of the pitch. With Kevin Lethbridge sat in the ?D? waiting, Wants did struggle to polish off the shot due to the strong defence of Pitts, Dunn and Lethbridge. However due to being totally outnumbered in the ?D? Wants did score their first goal of the match with a strong effective strike past the keeper. Half-time saw a slightly downhearted Tavistock, which was a shame as they did have great percentage of ball possession. The forwards did have some shots on goal but the rebound ball was never picked up and put back into play. Dunn tackled well and took the ball from their key players and sent it to Honey or Wilson. It was Wilson and Barratt that made some good links with Lovett. The opposition scored again and it felt like the Pumas were just not in the match. With less than five minutes remaining, a short corner was awarded to the Pumas. A hard strike from Gaspar was rebounded back out, Gaspar got on the end of it and switched it to Lethbridge who scored an excellent goal. This lifted the team spirit but unfortunately it was too late to try to secure another goal as the final whistle blew minutes later. Pumas knew they should have won but got beaten by a team that played better structured formation on the pitch. Tavistock Pumas: James Pitts, Kevin Lethbridge, Fiona Dunn, Robynne Honey, Jo Gaspar, James Barratt, Chris Wilson, John Barratt, Judy Miller, Laura Armstrong, Dom Lovett.
