Mens 1s -vs- Taunton Vale

17 October 2009

5 - 1

A motivated warm-up and three minutes into play saw Cheltenham put into practice a fluid move down the right-hand side, leading to Penny winning the first short corner of the game. Top goal-scorer Alex Fateh stepped up to force a diving save from the Taunton keeper only for Hay to retrieve the ball and crash it back across the face of goal where James Astley bagged the game's opening goal. Jolted into action, the opposition countered, but Rooke made some fine saves, preventing Taunton from equalising. Cheltenham's Cole led a Cheltenham counter-attack from deep, and slipped the ball under his arm to Astley who guided the ball back-post to Hay, to make it 2-0. Another patient build up before the end of the half saw Hay score his second goal of the game via a deflection taking the ball past the out-spread keeper.

The second half saw Taunton fight back with play some competitive hockey for the first ten minutes. This may have produced a positive outcome if it wasn't for the 40-yard reverse stick pass from James Foster, putting Hay through one-on-one against the Taunton keeper. Hay duly obliged and took the ball past the desperate last line of defence to complete his hat-trick.

This put the team on a clear high as they started to play some flamboyant hockey, stringing passes together, staying out of trouble and dominating possession. This eventually resulted in Cheltenham's fifth goal from a neat pattern of play down the left, ending in a back-post tap-in for Cole. A minor defensive error saw the clean sheet bonus evaporate as Taunton scored a consolation goal in the dying minutes. 5-1 and Cheltenham go top of the league after 4 games.

Finally, in other news congratulations must also go to the Mens 2nd XI who continued their winning ways at the weekend with a 1-0 victory.

Furthermore, the Men's 1st XI are continuing their campaign at home this weekend against Bristol University 1XI and any support would be greatly appreciated as they strive to make it 5 out of 5.

Goal Scorers: James Astley, Tom Cole, Alex Hay (3)

Player of the Match: Alex Hay