Mens 1sts
Matches
Sat 15 Dec 2012  ·  Division 2
Lincoln 1
5
4
Halifax Hockey Club
Mens 1sts
Defeat leaves Men’s 1sts mountain to climb in promotion hunt

Defeat leaves Men’s 1sts mountain to climb in promotion hunt

Halifax Hockey11 Jan 2013 - 13:59
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A disappointing defeat to Lincoln for Men's 1sts in a 5-4 thriller, leaves them a tough challenge to fight for promotion

Lincoln 1sts 5 – 4 Halifax 1sts

Scorers : Bairstow, Walker, Love, Jones

Halifax were on the wrong end of a 9 goal thriller at Lincoln on Saturday, with the Lincoln winner coming in the last seconds of the game.

From the start it was clear that the game was going to be close with both teams knowing that a win could really help in their promotion push. Halifax took the lead when Matthew Bairstow forced the ball home after a goalmouth scramble. Lincoln were gifted an equaliser soon after when a defensive error allowed the Lincoln centre forward a free run at goal and he finished well.

Good work down the right from Bairtow and Josh Sutcliffe set up Tom Love who looked certain to score only for a Lincoln defender to stop his shot illegally with his leg. Unfortunately the resultant penalty stroke saw Sutcliffe’s shot saved. However the team did go 2-1 up when Bairstow challenged the keeper and the cross from Walker somehow found the net.

After the half time break, Halifax had a horrid 5 minutes and poor passing and woeful defending allowed Lincoln to score 2 quick goals to take the lead. The team fought back and the goal of the game was a joy to watch as Love took an arial pass from Michael jones controlled it beautifully before spinning away from his marker and unleashing a powerful shot into the far corner of the goal.

The next period of play saw the players battle for possession and it was Lincoln who kept the ball better forcing a couple of penalty corners- they scored from the 2nd of these. Halifax then pressed forward to win a penalty corner of their own. Jones’s thunderous strike deflected off a defenders stick to sail into the net to level the game.

Richard marshall and Simon Arch were having good games in defence with mattew metclafe solid in goal.

It looked like the game was going to be a draw when Jones was sin bined after failing to get the ball in a sliding tackle. With the extra player in the last few minutes, the Lincoln team pressed hard and won a penalty corner in the last few seconds. The rules allow this corner to be taken even if time has run out. Their well drilled corner routine worked well again and the home team took all 3 points with a 5-4 win.

It was hard on the Halifax lads who felt they deserved at least a draw. The defeats leaves them a mountain to climb if they are to stay in the promotion hunt after a 4 week Xmas break.

Match details

Match date

Sat 15 Dec 2012

Kickoff

13:30

Competition

Division 2
Team overview
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