Southern two

Marjons C 3

TAVISTOCK A hosted Marjons at Mount Kelly and, despite being seriously depleted of regular players, provided spectators with an exciting and by no means one-sided match.

The home side began by soaking up early Marjon pressure and creating some early probes of their own. The game flowed freely and fast until, after 13 minutes, a Marjon attack resulted in a remarkable goal – the ball moving at speed in the air was intercepted at shoulder height and cracked fiercely into the bottom corner of the goal – even the defenders sportingly applauded!

Tavistock came straight back into the game and began to attack, earning an unsuccessful penalty corner as the half drew to a close.

As the second half began everything was to play for at 1-0, but Tavistock let their guard down. The first five minutes of a half is crucial and Marjon piled on pressure. Tavistock crumbled for five minutes before they pulled themselves together. In that five minutes Marjon scored another remarkable goal (a powerful back-stick strike from a narrow angle) and took advantage of a Tavistock defensive fumble to extend their lead to 3-0.

Tavistock never looked likely to score three goals, but continued to play hard, aggressive hockey and make real chances. Two more penalty corners were won, one missing by inches.

This was a rewarding match for Tavistock, who played as a team and supported one another against a well-drilled and skilful visiting team.  The team left the pitch with their heads held high, having turned what should, on paper, have been a rout into a hard fought match.